Death in Salem by Eleanor Kuhns
Will Rees is a weaver from Maine visiting Salem on his way home
from selling his wares on the road. He’s
hoping to purchase a nice present for his pregnant wife, but instead bumps into
a friend who saved his life in the war; and that would be the Revolutionary War
for its 1796 when our mystery is set.
Will’s friend, nicknamed Twig, is the local undertaker and he’s leading
the funeral procession for the long ailing Mrs. Antiss Boothe. Her family is well respected in the town and
when her husband is found murdered shortly after her funeral the town is in
shock. No one more so than Twig who
races to find Will, who recently left for home, and bring him back to Salem to
solve the crime. The woman Twig loves,
the slave belonging to the Boothe household, is accused of the murder and
locked in the jail.
It’s obvious from the get-go that the accused didn’t commit the
crime. She wouldn’t have had the strength. Yet the politics and secrets of the wealthy
shipowners of Salem trip Will up as he tries to uncover who would have a motive
and the opportunity to murder Mr. Boothe.
Those fans of historical mysteries will find a lot to like
here. There is a lot of local color and
period detail. I did find some of the
“mysteries” easy to solve but that was because I’m looking at the situation
with modern eyes. Will wouldn’t have (and didn’t) make some of the jumps a modern
reader would which was accurate to the time, yet annoying as far as crafting a
mystery. It was slower paced than I like
my mysteries, but again, true to the time.
I both read and listened to this book and recommend reading it over
listening; some of the voices the narrator used I found a bit annoying in their
tone.
