Jan Karon

After twelve years of wrestling with the conflicts of retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh realizes he doesn't need a steady job to prove himself. Then he's given one. As for what it proves, heaven only knows. It's life as usual in Mitford. A beloved town character lands a front-page obituary, but who was it, exactly, who died? And what about the former mayor, born the year Lindbergh landed in Paris, who is still running for office? All this, of course,...

"Over the course of ten Mitford novels, fans have kept a special place in their hearts for Dooley Kavanagh, first seen in At Home in Mitford as a barefoot, freckle-faced boy in filthy overalls. Now, Father Tim Kavanagh's adopted son has graduated from vet school and opened his own animal clinic. Since money will be tight for a while, maybe he and Lace Harper, his once and future soul mate, should keep their wedding simple. So the plan is to eliminate...

The rector of a small town parish finds himself being pursued by his attractive neighbor and a wealthy widow, and his cousin Meg moves into the rectory uninvited to add to his troubles.

Father Timothy Kavanagh, married for the first time at the age of sixtysomething, struggles to deal with the upheaval and delight of having a wife, while also presiding over the triumphs and troubles of the people of the small town of Mitford, North Carolina.

Having pursued intellectual matters all of his life, Father Tim discovers the joys of working with his hands when he discovers a worn-out nativity scene and begins to restore it.

Restless with his retirement, Father Tim, accompanied by Cynthia, gears up for a year-long ministry across the state line, but a series of events sends shock waves throughout the town of Mitford and through Father Tim's faith.

While Father Tim Kavanagh struggles with ambivalence about returning to the pulpit in Mitford, his adopted son, Dooley, falls passionately in love with an aspiring veterinarian against the backdrop of a mayoral reelection campaign and the opening of a new café.

The Mitford Years series, bk. 1.

The Mitford years, bk. 2.

The Mitford years series, bk. 5.