Grab the Lapels

A Nun in the Closet by Dorothy Gilman

Although she appears to be famous for the Mrs. Pollifax Series and is called the American Agatha Christie in one blurb, I had never heard of Dorothy Gilman. But still, that rather Sapphic title on the shelf at Goodwill drew me in, so I grabbed A Nun in the Closet.

Cloistered at St. Tabitha’s abbey, a dwindling group of nuns exchange bread they bake for basic goods. Really, the food the eat is astonishing and basically sounds like boiled weeds. In other words, they’re sheltered and poor. However, they receive word that the abbey has been named in a will, leaving them a large home. Bravely, Sisters John and Hyacinth leave the abbey to scope out their inheritance, and shenanigans ensue.

Published and set in the 1970’s, the nuns are ignorant of the Workers’ Rights Movement, but are made aware (and become passionate) after they meet a small group living in the woods on the property. Former academics, those in the group now pick beans and live the simple life while fighting for migrant workers on the side. Meanwhile, the sisters discover a suitcase dangling from a rope in their well and a man who has been shot hiding in their closet. Asking for sanctuary, the man is dressed up as a nun and deemed Sister Ursula.

Throughout the novel, people show up under various guises: census taker, religious items salesman, garbageman, etc. It’s obvious to us that these people are scoping the place out, and it’s also plain as day that the fifteen pounds of sugar in the nuns’ pantry is cocaine. However, their stoic yet naive attitudes make for a rather comedic book. When the group of former academics turned rights activists try to get a feel for the sisters’ naiveté, we learn just how out of touch the nuns are:

“You’ve heard of communes?” When Sister John shook her head he said, “Hippies? Yippies? Women’s Lib?”

“Male chauvinist pigs?” put in Naomi. “Watergate? Kent State? Third World? Club of Rome?” When both sisters stared at them blankly, Alfie said, “Good God, you’re like Martians visiting us for the first time! Is that what being in cloister means?”

“We did see that nice Mr. Glenn circle the earth,” volunteered Sister John. “Mr. Armisbruck brought in a television set for us.”

A short paperback, A Nun in the Closet was a fun, amusing mystery novel with a good dose of humor and a great leading pair in Sister John, who is a brave leader, and Sister Hyacinthe, who is afraid of everything and just wants to pick and dry herbs.

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Published by Grab the Lapels

I'm a graduate of the MFA fiction writing program at the University of Notre Dame, which inspired me to follow along with trends in teaching, publishing, and reviewing. I also have an MA and BS from Central Michigan University. I used to teach composition, creative writing, and literature in higher education, then did a brief stint at a civic theater, followed by two years at a references desk at a public library. I'm now working toward my ASL Interpreter license.

29 comments

  1. Oh, this sounds like tremendous fun – definitely adding it to my TBR! I think I’ve read a Mrs Pollifax in the past but it didn’t stick with me, but this sounds great. Cloisters are such an interesting setting for a mystery because of the factors you identify here.

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  6. How cute (other than the boiled weeds part). I love how there are pounds of cocaine in their cupboards and they have no idea. Sounds like a bunch of fun! I’ve never read Dorothy Gilman (or heard of that series) but I think I’d enjoy this book.

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  10. Sounds nice. I’ll look for it sometime when I’m in the mood for early Mrs. Pollifax-type fiction. I enjoyed that series up until I think the penultimate one, when Mrs. Pollifax, who has been indefatigable up until that point, meets a real-life villain and gets tortured. I’m not the only reader who found that jarring, but it put me off the author for a good while now.

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    • Oh, wow! You’re the first commentor to acknowledge he/she has read Mrs. Pollifax. My book says Gilman is the American Agatha Christie, which surprised me because I’d never heard of her.

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  11. I saw this come through with its gorgeous cover but for some reason didn’t end up reading the post. I have now, and as always enjoyed your writing. Love the likening of the nuns to Martians. When I was an angsty teenager – and even though I wasn’t catholic – I was attracted to the idea of being a Nun as a fall-back position if life got too difficult! I thought their lives were set-no more worries or decisions. Just get on with the “nunning”! I’ve since realised no life anywhere is worry or decision free.

    Love the cover too.

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