Jan Karon’s Mitford series is one of my very favorites, too. It’s a wonderful series, full of fully developed friends who become like family. She writes beautifully. These are my “comfort reads.” I retreat to the world of Fr. Kavanaugh whenever the one I actually inhabit is “too much with me.” I think that Karon’s small town atmosphere and ensemble of recurring characters is similar to Penny’s, but you’re far less likely to get murdered in Fr. Kavanaugh’s world than Gamache’s!