The Almanack
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
‘Bailey’s prose sparkles’ The Times
'Puzzle solvers and historians will love this mystery' Booklist
'Murderously dark and delightful' MELISSA BAILEY
SUPERSTITION. MURDER. VENGEANCE.
Tabitha Hart earns a scandalous living in London, with whichever gentleman has enough coin for her company. But in the summer of 1752, her mother urgently summons her home to the village of Netherlea and, with reluctance, she returns. However, she is greeted by the news that her mother has died in disturbing circumstances.
Finding cryptic notes in her mother’s almanack, Tabitha is determined to discover the truth, but the superstitious villagers are wary of her. Only the enigmatic Nat Starling is prepared to join her, as she sets out to uncover her mother’s killer. But soon the summer draws to a close and snow sets in, cutting off Netherlea from the outside world. As an unknown killer prophesies their deaths, Tabitha and Nat now face the darkest hours of their lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This engrossing whodunit set in 1752 England from Bailey (An Appetite for Violets) finds thief Tabitha Hart victimized by one of her marks in London, who makes off with her money and most of her possessions. Meanwhile, Tabitha is desperate to return to her home village of Netherlea, where her widowed mother, Elizabeth, still lives, after a year away. Tabitha recently received a letter from Elizabeth asking her to come back in order to learn something troubling. But when Tabitha reaches Netherlea, she's devastated to find her mother dead. While the local parson informs her that her mother, whose mind was considered "disordered," drowned accidentally, Tabitha notices a head wound on the body that suggests foul play. That theory is bolstered by Elizabeth's notes in an almanac, in which she states that she "knows who killed Towler, and why," and that she believes she is also marked for death by a person she identifies only as D. Another death follows, which is clearly murder. Bailey makes Tabitha a plausibly resourceful sleuth as she pursues the mysteries of both killings. Historical fans are in for a treat.
