By Susan Howatch
Rated: ★★★★★
This very busy book is the sixth and concluding book of the Starbridge series. It is narrated by Charles Ashworth, Bishop of the Starbridge. By this time in the series all the characters have become real people to me and all the events have actually happened. I am very involved.
Events almost happen faster than I the reader can absorb them. Lyle, the much loved but somewhat stand-offish wife of Charles dies and when her journal comes to light Charles discovers that she had a much richer inner spiritual life than he had ever imagined. Added to his almost overwhelming grief Charles also has to contend with the insecurity of his oldest son, the rebelliousness of the younger son, a cathedral that is sending out bad vibes, the suspicion that it's Dean, Neville Aysgarth, is playing fast and loose with the cathedral's assets, an apparent ghost who has recently taken up residence in the cathedral, a controversial divorced priest who wants to set up a Healing Center in the diocese, a pushy archdeacon, and another priest who has been collecting pornography.
Jon once again rides to the rescue in spite of now being 88 years old and manages to pick up Neville and set him back on his feet spiritually, and helps he and Charles to come to a meeting of the minds regarding the operation of the cathedral. The controversial priest Lewis Hall methaphorically airs out the cathedral and rids it of the bad vibes, confronts the ghost who turns out the be a former Bishop who is just trying to be helpful and sorts out the priest with the dirty pictures. In the end everything works its self out just like a good novel is supposed to.
