By Jan Karon
Book 4 in the series continues with many of the familiar names, and adds a few new characters. Dooley Barlow, the boy the Kavanaghs have cared for as their own, has returned from school, and they learn more about his four younger siblings and estranged parents. Mitford has a new retirement home, Hope House, thanks to the generosity of Miss Sadie Baxter, its wealthiest citizen. Pauline Barlow is hired to manage the dining room at Hope House, a significant improvement for Pauline, who has had a hard life, and a step toward being reunited with her children. Meanwhile a real estate developer wants to buy the Fernbank estate and turn it into a luxury spa, which would certainly change the small-town character of Mitford. Father Tim himself hints at retiring.
While any one of these books would stand on its own, it's a treat to return to Mitford and its familiar characters, to be encouraged to help one another (as we see over and over again in Mitford), and to be reminded by Father Tim of the prayer that never fails, "thy will be done".
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