The Constable's Tale

Starred review from July 13, 2015
Fans of Eliot Pattison’s Bone Rattler series (Soul of the Fire, etc.) will relish Smith’s impressive debut, set in 1759. Royal constable Harry Woodyard looks into a multiple murder at a plantation in North Carolina’s Craven County. Someone shot nine-year-old Andrew Campbell in a field, then rested the boy’s head on a pillow and put a sprig of rosemary under his nose. Andrew’s parents were slain in the house, their bodies also posed; only the baby was left alive. Most people believe that Indians were responsible, though the sparing of the infant’s life is uncharacteristic of similar Indian massacres. When Comet Elijah, a Tuscarora Indian and mentor to Harry, turns up in the vicinity, he’s arrested. Convinced of Comet Elijah’s innocence, Harry undertakes a perilous quest for the truth, which he believes is connected to a Masonic medal he found under the Campbell baby’s crib. Smith balances historical detail and a twisty whodunit plot like a veteran. Agent: Jennifer Unter, Unter Agency.