A man garbed in a bright yellow waistcoat, fawn-colored pantaloons, and red-trimmed Hessian boots is an unusual sight in the Maine woods, and the state of his body is even more so. The fashionable Mr. Randolph Gilbert lies dead, both strangled and stabbed. In November 1800, Will Rees, weaver and amateur detective, is asked by Constable Rouge, his sometime rival, to help solve the murder, which was discovered by an elder from the nearby Shaker community. After Rees learns Mr. Gilbert’s purpose in town, he grows nervous. The man was seeking to recapture a light-skinned young woman and her baby who fled enslavement in Virginia, and Rees and his wife, Lydia, have just returned from that state on an abolitionist mission (as recounted in Death in the Great Dismal, the previous book).

The theme explored in this sharply rendered historical mystery, tenth in series, is a powerful moral question. “If the victim is a slave catcher, well then, I say thank you to his murderer,” Rees’s friend Tobias, a free man of color, tells him, requesting that he drop the investigation. Rees’s natural inclination to pursue justice causes him internal conflict, and his Black friends may not forgive him if he succeeds. Plus, he can’t help but wonder if they themselves are guilty. Kuhns devotes close attention to fine period details, from cooking implements to rural Shaker lifeways, while the contemporary relevance of some plot aspects is unmistakable. The late Mr. Gilbert was ill with smallpox, the pestilence is quickly spreading, and Rees moves to quickly inoculate his children using a doctor’s suggested methodology. Not everyone puts their trust in science, though. The novel stands alone, though some characters’ backstories (the origin of Rees’s large, blended family, for instance) aren’t immediately obvious to newcomers. Recommended for readers enamored of early American settings.

(from the Historical Novels Review, November 2021)

This is my first experience reading a Will Rees mystery. This episode is set in 1800, Durham Maine, in November during the final weeks before the Presidential election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. As such, it includes many topical issues of the time: presidential politics, abolition vs slavery, the Shakers, the Fugitive Slave Act, early medical care and early forms of policing. All of this wrapped around a murder mystery.

Will Rees is a farmer, weaver and sometime constable, backing up the local tavern keeper and full time constable when needed. Here he is drawn into the investigation of the death of a man who is not local, who is discovered to be a Southerner, perhaps in search of stolen property—a young woman, a slave, who was assisted North by anti-slavery northerners. As Rees becomes fully involved in this investigation, he finds himself questioning people he likes and respects as he dreads possible answers in his search for the truth.

This was easily read as an entrance to the series or a standalone as enough background is provided to understand characters’ behavior and motivations. I found this an interesting story and mystery and an interesting review of early American racial history. I would read more.

A copy of this book was provided by Severn House publishing through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Nothing appears has it looks in this engrossing and rollicking whodunit set in the early days of the young American Republic. A very captivating fictional journey with lots of twists and turns and unexpected surprises within the early days of the underground movement and the urgent drive to deal with slavery and its evil consequences. But can you blindingly trust everbody especially when the hapless soul might actually turn out to be more dangerous that he/she seems? I love this novel and its incredible thrust into a little known period in American history
especially overhere in Europe. Elegantly written and blessed with some unforgettable characters this wonderful novel definitely deserves to be discovered and enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever. A new author for me and a fiendishly good piece of historical fiction! Go for it👍👍👍👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and Canongate/Severn for this terrific ARC

This historical mystery series continues to impress for its unusual hero and subject. Will, who married into the Shaker faith of his wife Lydia. He's a weaver who probably spends more time (honestly) helping slaves escape and resettle in Maine. In this installment, Sandy's owner has sent her brother Randolph Gilbert after her. And then he's found dead. Who killed him? Will funds himself investigating in part because Sheriff Rouge is ill- small pox has arrived in their small corner of the world. The mystery of the murderer is less twisty than usual but that's ok- it's a nicely atmospheric read with a good ethical question. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fans of the series will be pleased but it's also fine as a standalone.

"Murder on Principle" is a mystery set in 1800 in Maine. This was the 10th book in a series, but you can follow what's going on without having read the previous books. This book did spoil some events in a previous book but not any whodunits. I didn't find Will be particularly intelligent or engaging. While this was a clue-based mystery, the clues all clearly pointed toward one person. It was easy to catch on to whodunit and each clue only further pointed towards whodunit. Unfortunately, Will was so certain that only certain people would have reason to kill the victims that he didn't look at the clues so much as try to prove his suspects either innocent or guilty. He suspected his friends and destroyed his friendship with them because he didn't trust them when they claim innocence.

The book explored why Will pursued the killer so relentlessly when multiple people told him that he wasn't going to like knowing whodunit because the victims deserved it. In the end, it seemed like he wanted to know so he could personally judge if the person should be punished or not. He allowed someone innocent but out of reach of the law to take the blame. I didn't find this very satisfying, though the real killer might have been treated unfairly if brought to light.

Some interesting historical details were woven into the story. I found it ironic that Will declared it a smallpox epidemic when only one living person was known to be sick. There was no sex. There was one use of bad language.

Will Rees is informed by Constable Rouge that a body has been discovered on the Shakers farmland. That of Randolph Gilbert, who has travelled north following a trail, looking for his escaped slaves. The same ones that he and Lydia help escape. As Rouge falls ill Rees takes over the investigation knowing that some of his friends believe the killing to be justified.
An enjoyable and well-wriiten historical mystery with its likeable and interesting characters. Another good addition to the series
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eleanor Kuhn's Will Rees historical mystery series is set in pre-Civil War Maine. The northern states no longer have slavery, the southern states do—and the Dred Scott decision and subsequent legislation have confirmed the view that escaped slaves are still "property" and can be captured and returned to their owners. The way this situation plays out in reality is that any Black American in the North is at risk of being kidnapped and taken south as an escaped slave—even if that individual had been free from birth or had already purchased their freedom. It was easy enough for slave catchers to destroy the paperwork proving that a Black person was free, and from there the reality of slavery and the relative power of white and Black Americans meant that the individual would most likely wind up living out their life as a slave.

Murder on Principle involves a number of characters: there's weaver Will Rees and his wife Lydia, who are abolitionists, along with their many children, both natural and adopted; there are the anti-slavery residents at the local Shaker colony, who keep themselves isolated and seldom act on their principles; there are individuals like the married couple Tobias (free born) and Ruth (escaped slave). In an earlier volume in the series Will, Lydia, and Tobias successfully smuggled Ruth the freedom and brought along a young woman, Sandy, and her infant son.

The plot here centers on Sandy who is fair-skinned and beautiful, making her a valuable commodity in the South. The brother of Sandy's owner and a slave catcher who works with him have tracked Sandy to Maine. Before they can seize her, her owner's brother is killed, and the owner herself shows up demanding justice and the return of her "property." Will works simultaneously to protect Sandy and solve the murder. Meanwhile, there's the small additional matter of an outbreak of smallpox.

The mystery here is pretty straightforward, though not obvious. What I found to be the real strength of this novel is the way the author manages to make real living at continuous risk of being sold or stolen south and what it means to live a "free" life along that razor's edge.

Read Murder on Principle for the characters, its depiction of the precariousness of free life, and its exploration of the difference between law and justice.

I received a free review copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

{I will also be posting this review on Edelweiss and LibraryThing.]

Author/librarian Eleanor Kuhns has created a new genre: contemporary historical fiction.

Book 10 in her Shaker mystery series, set in Maine at the very end of the 18th Century, confronts racism, a vitriolic Presidential election, an epidemic and gender equality.

Will and Lydia Rees are solving murders together now that a tear in their marriage has been repaired.

Two of the slaves they helped escape from Virginia in Book 9 are being hunted by their irate mistress.

When the mistress's brother, infected with smallpox, is murdered Will worries that the people he helped escape may be the guilty parties.

Kuhns'' series is masterful.