Simply Dead

January 1, 2019
Weaver Will Rees seeks sanctuary for his family after fleeing his home and charges of murder against him, and witchcraft against his wife, Lydia, as described in The Devil's Cold Dish (2016). What could be safer for his heavily pregnant wife and their five adopted children than the Maine Shaker community of Zion? But the day after Rees arrives at Zion, one of the brethren is found murdered. Within days, a teenager and an elderly woman also are killed, and attempts are made on the lives of the murdered woman's husband and finally on Will himself. Shaker elders want to believe the killer is a visitor and not one of their own, while Rees is doubtful. Reasoning that subsequent crimes are attempts to cover up the original murder, he is faced with solving the killings as a means of ensuring his family's future safety. This sixth Will Rees entry illuminates post-Revolutionary Shaker life, providing backstory that gives Rees nightmares, as it hints at the future for the family in this readable historical-mystery series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2019
In 1790s Maine, a young midwife, Hortense, disappears after delivering a child, leading to a frantic search through the cold, snowy woods. Will Rees finds her unconscious, without coat or shoes. After she wakes up, she tells everyone she was kidnapped, but Will does not believe she is telling the entire truth and thinks she is still in danger. When Rees is proven correct, he arranges for Hortense to hide in a local Shaker community until she can travel to Canada to live with relatives. Rees' young daughter is attacked, and a Shaker woman is murdered, making Rees more determined than ever to uncover the truth. His investigation leads him to the mountains to question those who keep to themselves and do not like outsiders, where he almost loses his life in his quest to solve the mystery. An indefatigable, principled main character and an immersive early-republic setting, nicely delineating the life and times of the era, distinguish this historical mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)