Will Rees faces a moral dilemma when a slaveholder is murdered while attempting to recapture a former slave: should he pursue lawful justice or should he let the killer go free?
November 1800, Maine. After helping their long-time friend Tobias escort his wife, along with a liberated slave and her child, from the Great Dismal back to Durham, Will and Lydia Rees's lives are interrupted when a dead body is found near their home.
The body is that of Mr Gilbert, a slaveholder from the Great Dismal. Was he murdered in pursuit of the former slaves?
When it's discovered Gilbert was infected with smallpox, and Gilbert's sister arrives demanding justice and the return of her absconded slaves, Will is torn. Finding the killer could lead to the recapture of the former slaves. Letting them go free could result in a false arrest and endanger the Durham community. Will must make a choice . . .
Eleanor Kuhns is the 2011 winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel competition for A Simple Murder. The author of nine previous Will Rees mysteries, she is now a full-time writer after a successful career as the Assistant Director at the Goshen Public Library in Orange County, New York.
www.eleanor-kuhns.com
Title: Murder on Principle: 10 (A Will Rees Mystery, 10)
Author: Kuhns, Eleanor
ISBN: 9780727850072
Binding:
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2021-05-27
Number of Pages: 224
Weight: 0.4001 kg
A complex mystery that focuses on the institutional racism still sadly ingrained in the nation's psyche * Kirkus Reviews *
This sobering look at the cultural divide over slavery in the early days of the Republic deserves a wide audience * Publishers Weekly *
This continuation of the story of Will Rees and his family stands on its own, probing issues of race relations and religion in our early republic * Booklist *
The story shines for its historical backbone and atmospheric details ... Perfect for readers of Margaret Lawrence's Hannah Trevor novels and Eliot Pattison's Bone Rattler series * Booklist on Death in the Great Dismal *
A fascinating look at the Great Dismal Swamp and the enslaved who fled there trying to find freedom. The murder mystery is multi-faceted, with many red herrings and plot twists * Historical Novel Society on Death in the Great Dismal *
The setting and historical detail remain sharp, with strong, descriptive prose * Booklist on A Circle of Dead Girls *
A fine mystery that powerfully evokes the privations of the period * Kirkus Reviews on Simply Dead *
An indefatigable, principled main character and an immersive early-republic setting, nicely delineating the life and times of the era, distinguish this historical mystery * Booklist on Simply Dead *
The plot twists rank among the author's most clever. Historical fiction fans will be pleased * Publishers Weekly on Simply Dead *