The Orphanmaster

August 27, 2012
In Zimmerman's historical thriller, set in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam circa 1663, orphans are mysteriously disappearing. Searching for the missing children are a young trader and orphan named Blandine von Couvering and British spy Edward Drummond. As the two investigate the disappearances, they become romantically involved, but their fledgling love is threatened when Blandine is accused of being a witch and Edward is charged with espionage. From the very beginning of this audio edition, listeners will be captivated by the performance of narrator George Guidall. His deep, velvety voice sounds cultured, traveled, educated, and comfortable on many continents, and he produces almost flawless French and Dutch accents. Guidall's reading captures the tone of the author's prose and essence of her characters, and the intimacy of his narration will keep listeners engrossed until the very end. A Viking hardcover.

April 30, 2012
Zimmerman (The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune, and a Dynasty) uses 1663 New Amsterdam as the intriguing backdrop for her promising fiction debut. The prologue sets the stage for the eventual integration of the two main plot lines: the worldwide hunt for the surviving judge commissioners who signed the death warrant for Charles I, marked for death by Charles II, and the disappearance of Piddy Gullee, an eight-year-old African-American girl later found murdered in the forest north of the New Amsterdam wall by a terrifyingly tall creature that looks to be half-man and half-beast. When the Dutch authorities show little interest in Piddy’s fate because of her race, Blandine van Couvering, a “she-merchant,” pursues the matter, and discovers that a number of young orphans have gone missing recently, possibly the victims of the witika, a flesh-eating demon from Algonquin legend. Fans of Eliot Pattison’s Bone Rattler will find a lot to like. 5-city author tour. Agent: Betsy Lerner, Dunow, Carlson, and Lerner.