Death of a Dyer
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Will Rees feels at home. It's been a long time since he last felt this way—not since before his wife died years ago and he took to the road as a traveling weaver. Now, in 1796, Rees is back on his Maine farm, living with his teenaged son, David, and his housekeeper, Lydia—whose presence contributes more towards his happiness than he's ready to admit. But his domestic bliss is shattered the morning a visitor brings news of an old friend's murder.
Nate Bowditch and Rees hadn't spoken in many long years, but as children they were closer than brothers, and Rees feels his loss acutely. Asked to look into the circumstances surrounding Nate's death, Rees simply can't refuse. At the Bowditch farmstead, Rees quickly discovers that everyone—from Nate's frosty wife to his missing son to the shy serving girl—is hiding something. But are any of them actually capable of murder? Or does the answer lie elsewhere, behind stones no one even knew needed unturning?
Death of a Dyer once again proves Eleanor Kuhns's remarkable ability to spin a captivating story of a fascinating era and capture the light and darker sides of human nature on the page.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Farmer Will Rees, the hero of Kuhn's well-constructed second mystery set in late 18th-century Maine (after 2012's A Simple Murder), is dumbfounded to learn that childhood friend Nate Bowditch, one of the county's richest landowners, was beaten to death with a scutching knife and that Bowditch's 17-year-old son, Richard, is believed responsible. George Potter, the old friend and neighbor of Rees's who conveys this tragic news, persuades the reluctant Rees, who broke with the victim years before, to leave his farm work and visit Bowditch's widow that very day. Richard implicates himself by fleeing the area, but Rees, who developed his sleuthing skills while serving with the Continental Army, soon finds others with motives for the murder. Kuhns does a good job integrating the political developments of the time into the storyline, especially the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, and delivers a logical and surprising solution to this traditional whodunit.
Customer Reviews
Death of a dyer
Anyone who loves mystery, history, and romance will appreciate reading this series. As I prepare to begin the third book in the series, I am ready to disappear into the past. The author encourages me to read as fast possible. Beautifully written prose, well edited, and a pure pleasure to read.