July 20, 2015
Someone is targeting Massachusetts conductors on the Underground Railroad in the pseudonymous Oak’s solid third Henry David Thoreau mystery (after 2014’s Thoreau on Wolf Hill). In the spring of 1848, Julia Pelletier offers to help Thoreau, her transcendental philosopher friend, in his effort to hide runaway slaves, in part to make up for the profits that her brutish husband, Jacques, made from human trafficking in the West Indies. She soon finds herself in the middle of a whodunit when Ezra Tripp, a fellow member of the underground, is found shot dead. Julia’s involvement only deepens when she harbors runaways herself, and she comes under suspicion from both a Southern slave catcher and the local constable. The murder of another member of the organization raises the stakes. Thoreau is again an able investigator, and the pre–Civil War setting is well integrated into the story, even though a subplot involving Julia’s complex love life crosses into melodrama. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency.
July 1, 2015
A philosopher, a physician, and a free-spirited woman work together to solve a mystery in the 19th century. Talented portrait painter Julia Pelletier has always been in love with Dr. Adam Walker but was falsely told they were cousins. After marrying in haste, she discovers that her husband owned slave ships. Outraged, she leaves him in France and moves into the home she's inherited from her grandfather in Plumford, Massachusetts. There, she realizes that Adam is not her cousin, and they secretly become lovers. A friend to both of them, Henry Thoreau, has left Walden Pond to involve himself in the Underground Railroad. Julia has just offered her house as a station when Henry comes upon the body of Ezra Tripp, a conductor whose passenger was not delivered and is now missing. All three friends have been involved in a murder investigation before (Thoreau On Wolf Hill, 2014), and when someone sends a warning that Underground Railroad conductors are marked for death, they resolve to find the killer. A thorough search of Phantom Bog does not reveal the missing slave, but Julia eventually finds her and hides her in her attic. The slave's owner, who's in love with her, arrives determined to find her. Julia's worries about keeping the woman safe are compounded when she learns that her own husband has arrived from France and that she's pregnant. The three sleuths pool their distinctive skills to unravel the complicated mystery. Although the story could use some pruning, it provides plenty of vividly presented historical information on the Underground Railroad and Thoreau's world in the 1840s.
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September 15, 2015
During a week in May 1848, Plumford, Massachusetts, near Concord where Henry David Thoreau lives, proves to be a dangerous stop on the Underground Railway. Called to look into the disappearance of one of the conductors and his charge, Thoreau finds the body of conductor Ezra Tripp, shot through the back at the edge of Phantom Bog. Thinking the murder is the work of slave catchers, Thoreau and his friend, village doctor Adam Walker, seek evidence that the runaway made her escape but also search the bog, finding no trace. Their investigations lead them to Boston, where they learn of the murder of another conductor. Assisting the pair is Walker's lover, Julia Pelletier, an artist who has left her French husband, a former slave trader. It takes the combined powers of observation of the naturalist, the doctor, and the artist to piece together the truth behind not only the murders but also the lies spun by guests at the village inn. Third in the series, this historical mystery effectively mixes social commentary and love story with the murder plot and should appeal to a wide variety of readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)