Name: A Simple Murder
ISBN: 9781250005533

Eleanor Kuhns

A first novel by an award-winning writer finds former soldier-turned-traveling weaver Will Rees tracking down his mistreated son to a Shaker settlement in late-18th-century Maine, where his efforts to reconcile are challenged by the murder of a young woman and dark community secrets.

A Mystery

A Simple Murder

Five years ago, while William Rees was still recovering from his stint as a Revolutionary War soldier, his beloved wife died. Devastated, Will Rees left his son, David, in his sister's care, fled his Maine farm, and struck out for a tough but emotionally empty life as a traveling weaver. Now, upon returning unexpectedly to his farm, Rees discovers that David has been treated like a serf for years and finally ran away to join a secluded religious sect--the Shakers. Overwhelmed by guilt and hoping to reconcile with his son, Rees immediately follows David to the Shaker community. But when a young Shaker woman is brutally murdered shortly after Rees's arrival, Rees finds himself launched into a complicated investigation where the bodies keep multiplying, a tangled web of family connections casts suspicion on everyone, and the beautiful woman on the edge of the Shaker community might be hiding troubling ties to the victims. It quickly becomes clear that in solving Sister Chastity's murder, Rees may well expose some of the Shaker community's darkest secrets, not to mention endanger his own life. An atmospheric portrait of a compelling time in American history, A Simple Murder is an outstanding debut from Eleanor Kuhns, Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America's 2011 First Crime Novel Competition Winner.

Briar's Reviews

This book was a very slow start, but it had a very interesting and attention grabbing middle and ending. 

I love myself a good murder mystery novel, and this book added to my love of trying to figure out who killed the victims.

The book follows William Rees as he goes back to see his son at a sort of religious gathering place. I did not fully understand the setting and what type of religion these people were, but it was a good place to throw a murder mystery in. 

A young woman who is relatively new to the community is murdered and Rees is hired on to solve the murder. He ends up getting involved with multiple murders as he goes around trying to crack the mystery.

The book is set in the 1700s and proves to be a good time for the novel as well. At first I did not like the fact that it was back in the past, but once the book got farther along with the story I began to enjoy the setting.

Overall, I did not find many faults with the book other than finding it very slow. The beginning felt painful and the middle was okay until I reach the last fourth of the book. Once it got to the last fourth I was able to get into the book and feel attached to the characters. If the book moved a little faster, it could have been a five star book.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

A Simple Murder A Mystery

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