Set in 1786 in the township of Rufford, Maine, Lawrence’s impressive historical suspense debut poses a fascinating conundrum and vivifies the society in which it arose. The story centers on the investigation by midwife Hannah Trevor of the rape and strangulation death of a young mother, Anthea Emory. According to a letter presumably written by Anthea, the dead woman was raped on three successive nights, by three different men, before one of them finally killed her. One of the three men accused is Daniel Josselyn, father of Hannah’s illegitimate seven-year-old daughter. Because the marks on Anthea’s neck match the imprint of Daniel’s three-fingered hand, he becomes the target of a lynch mob and flees in search of Anthea’s husband, whom he believes can shed light on her sad life and tragic death. Before following Daniel into the dangerous wintry wilderness to save him from the mob, Hannah finds that two of the three men accused in Anthea’s letter, along with Constable William Quaid, were members of a Rufford Patriot division that stumbled into an ambush at Webb’s Ford in 1777. In retaliation, three of the Patriots raped Anthea, then a young girl, and slaughtered her family. The final revelation of Anthea’s killer comes as a surprise, although several plot strands are left vague, and a few discrepancies are disquieting. At intervals, inquest transcripts, recipes, diary excerpts and marginally relevant testimonials punctuate the narrative, vividly evoking the Revolutionary period and providing authentic, if occasionally obtrusive background detail. While not perfectly fluid, the story commands attention as it immerses readers in its mystery and the past; like the extended quilt metaphor that runs through it, this novel is greater than the sum of its parts. — Publisher’s Weekly

This novel is not so much a mystery as a suspense novel. It grabs you when you first open the pages and pulls you in. Set in post revolutionary war Maine you quickly are forced into the world from a midwife’s point of view. Hanna is what you would think of as a feminist. She doesn’t conform to societies ideals for a woman. And really that is alright.

If you’re looking for a good historical that is just a short time after the revolution this is a good read. It doesn’t really have any romance on it. And you will follow a very interesting cast of women through the story.

A vicious captain, a mutinous crew —
and a young girl caught in the middle

Newbery Honor Book

For fun and giggles I decided to read this book again. I read it a long time ago when it was more age appropriate for me. This is a nice period piece that covers a young woman’s journey through things. If you liked Pirates of the Caribbean you are very likely to enjoy True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. It is age appropriate, but it is also enjoyable and amusing for the older crowd if they wish to watch that.

TO BED A THIEF!

Mysterious and tempting, she teases him. And, as the net closes around the Cat, Brandon realizes he wants to protect her as well as bed her. But the only way to catch her is to spring the parson’s mousetrap — and make her his countess!

Okay, this book was a fast read and it was pretty fun overall. Really it does have some good solid characters that are enjoyable. But overall it was also predictable. You knew what was going to happen before it happened. And while that doesn’t matter sometimes and is a small issue, with this book for me it was a slightly big issue.

But eventually you warm up to him. You learn to see his point of view and have to respect how he feels about things. He’s torn between caring for the thief and wanting to see justice done. By the end of this book he did get my respect. And over the entire book was an okay read.