Publishers Weekly
04/20/2015
Kuhns’s solid fourth mystery set in the late 18th century (after 2014’s Cradle to Grave) takes weaver and private detective Will Rees from his home in Maine to Salem, Mass., to buy cloth for his wife, Lydia, but he’s soon detained by an old friend, Stephen “Twig” Eaton, who saved his life during the War for Independence. Twig’s beloved servant, Xenobia, has been arrested for the stabbing murder of Jacob Boothe, a prosperous Salem merchant, and he wants Rees to exonerate her. Not everyone welcomes Rees’s probing into Boothe’s personal and business affairs as he looks for motives for the crime. The killer doesn’t stop with just one victim, increasing the pressure on Rees to close the case. Lydia joins him in Salem and assists with his inquiries, even as she fears that he’s risking his life unnecessarily. Evocative descriptions of Salem, especially of the whaling industry, make up for a whodunit plot less crafty than the author’s usual. Agent: Mitchell S. Waters, Curtis Brown. (June)
From the Publisher
“Kuhns hits all the right notes--a clever plot, well-rounded characters and a rich sense of place, time and culture--as she successfully weaves all elements together into an intelligent whole.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Kuhns creates a marvelously chilly atmosphere throughout this suspense tale about seemingly upright people guarding evil secrets. Rees, the weaver, is a wonderful creation.” —Booklist (starred)
“Well-constructed…[Kuhns] delivers a logical and surprising solution to this traditional whodunit.” —Publishers Weekly
“Kuhns' follow-up to Will's debut offers a sensitive look into matters of the heart woven into a nifty puzzle.” —Kirkus
Library Journal - Audio
10/01/2015
When Will Rees vists Salem, MA, to buy a gift for his pregnant wife who is in Maine, he comes upon a funeral procession for the late Mrs. Antiss Boothe. Then Rees runs into his wartime compatriot Twig, and he learns that Mrs. Boothe had been very ill, and her death had not come as a surprise. The next morning, however, Rees finds that Mr. Boothe has been murdered. When the woman whom Twig loves is suspected, he persuades Rees to help solve the case. Susie Berneis draws the listener into the story and the Revolutionary War period with her excellent interpretation and presentation of the era's dialect, narrative timing, and clear, distinct speech patterns. Kuhns demonstrates a solid understanding of life in America after the Revolution. VERDICT Will appeal to historical fiction and mystery fans.—Laurie Selwyn, formerly with Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX
Library Journal
05/01/2015
Traveling to Salem, MA, to buy silks for his pregnant wife, 18th-century itinerant weaver Will Rees encounters a funeral procession for a Mrs. Antiss Boothe; soon her husband is dead as well. Twig saved Will's life during the Revolutionary War and now his fiancée is accused of the murder. Can Will uncover the culprit as he has done in three previous cases (Cradle to Grave)? [See Prepub Alert, 12/15/14.]
OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile
Narrator Susie Berneis evokes the eerie setting of Salem, Massachusetts, a century after the infamous witch trials. When a wealthy businessman is murdered, a slave of Jamaican descent is arrested, and her fiancé asks Will Rees, a traveling weaver who also solves crimes, for help. Berneis effectively portrays male characters as well as female characters, which is essential in a story with a male protagonist. Berneis juggles a wide cast, including a family of spoiled adult children, heirs to their murdered father's business. Rees has family problems of his own as the father of five adopted children and an angry teenager. Listeners are taken in and out of Salem’s underground tunnels as Rees pursues the real killer. M.R. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2015-04-01
An 18th-century weaver/detective steps into a wasp's nest of family intrigue when he takes on his fourth case. More than 100 years after the witch trials, Salem, Massachusetts, is a thriving port second only to Boston, and its leading citizens have grown rich in trade with the Orient. Will Rees has come to buy imported fabric, and he lingers to watch the funeral procession of Anstiss, the invalid wife of merchant Jacob Boothe. Rees witnesses an ugly scene: Boothe's estranged in-laws, a prosperous whaling family, blame him and his younger daughter, Peggy, for Anstiss' death. Rees is on his way home to the District of Maine when his friend Stephen "Twig" Eaton fetches him back to Salem. Jacob Boothe has been stabbed to death, and Twig's sweetheart, the Boothes' slave Xenobia, stands accused. After Rees helps exonerate Xenobia, William Boothe, Jacob's older son, retains the weaver to solve the murder. The Boothes are not a happy family. Peggy is angry with her father for displacing her as unofficial bookkeeper and turning the accounts over to William. The other son, Matthew, is a wastrel who seems to care less about his father than about the dramatic society he belongs to, along with one of his brothers-in-law. The other Boothe daughter's main concern is that scandal doesn't disrupt her upcoming wedding. But scandal there is when the cousin of Jacob's rumored mistress is strangled. Rees thinks a woman's sympathetic touch might help and sends for his wife, Lydia. Together they try to make sense of hidden merchandise in Salem's vast tunnel system, a piratical French sea captain, the mystery of a ship that once belonged to the Boothe family, and a strange tattoo that could solve the Salem murders. Rees and Lydia would have made better progress if they hadn't stopped to eat every few pages and Kuhns (Cradle to Grave, 2014, etc.) hadn't described every bite, along with numerous other historical details. Still, the Reeses make an amiable sleuthing team in a post-Revolutionary War setting.
