I first came upon Sarah Stewart Taylor through the Sweeney St George series so was pleased when I recorded this from Net Galley in return for an honest review of this first installment of a new series.

Warren Franklin, newly hired as a detective in a small but growing town in Vermont, is escaping his own ghosts when a recent spate of crimes hands him investigating more than he bargained for as his first case.

Ms Taylor has a way with building a story piece by piece, person by person, incident by incident allowing the reader to walk into the book as if we were bystanders in town, watching everything unfold.

This is well written, compelling characters and an interestingly well woven plot. More complex than a cozy mystery this will appeal to mystery lovers as well as those that love a good story.

This was a lovely, gentle, thoughtful book, almost elegiac in tone. The story flows through the beautifully-described setting and well-established cast of characters, giving the puzzling mystery at the center a richer, deeper context.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this special book.

A lovely mystery set in beautiful Vermont. There was a few more details I wish could've been added but overall it was a good book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

holy crap!!!!! this book is sooooo intense and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. excellent plot. bravo sarah!!!!!

I cant wait to read the next book in this series. While the story was slow at times and I did skim read a few chapters, I really enjoyed the atmospheric vibes. The author did a great job at painting a picture of the town and setting. I really enjoyed the characters as well.  
Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC!

Absolutely Loved this quiet novel set in a small town in Vermont in the mid 1960s. it has great characters with real depth, a town with some secrets, real world issues slowing encroaching on the town's rural isolation and bringing more crime. Can't wait to find more books like this one.

This was my first Sarah Stewart Taylor book and I was drawn to it because of the time period and the fact that it was listed as historical fiction and mystery & thriller. While I loved the atmospheric setting and the era in which the story takes place, the mystery and character development fell flat. There are many characters within this story that felt unnecessary and their appearances slowed the pace quite a bit for me. I considered DNFing this point at the 40% mark but ended up skimming through to the end just to see if my suspicions about the ending were true. For the most part, they were, though I'd hoped for more emotion and excitement.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to provide my honest feedback on this ARC.

A slow burn mystery set in Vermont in the 1960’s. It’s character driven and the mystery just sets us up to learn about the people. An enjoyable read!

I received an early copy through Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
A well-written novel with likable characters with a great setting in rural Vermont. Loved everything: the storyline, characters and location.
Looking forward to more mystery adventures with Detective Warren.

While this story is a bit of a slow burn, I really enjoyed the writing and storytelling. The different POVs were interesting and I truly did not anticipate where this story was going.

A terrific novel that captures a rural community in the 1960’s with detailed finesse. The narrative never disappoints and the characters were wonderfully depicted. I loved it. I could imagine the town and its environs with clarity due to the author’s superb descriptions and technique.
The issues discussed are still contemporary and the author handles them with aplomb. Thank you for sending me this notable book. Most importantly, the author was able to bring all the strings of the narrative to an ending that made perfect sense.

Though I enjoyed Agony Hill, it was a very slow read. The characters were likable and plot was okay but nothing very memorable.

The following review was posted on Goodreads on 04.04.24:

I enjoy Taylor's Maggie D'Arcy mystery series, so I was all in for this series debut. It's a quieter novel than others I've read by the author, without a lot of action or suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat. In fact, there was never a time in the book that I couldn't have set it down and walked away. I did finish it. Overall, though, AGONY HILL was just an average read for me.

Warren is a likable hero. He's sympathetic, kind, and determined to get justice for those who are wronged. And...that's sort of it. There's not much else to him. He's a simple character without any complexity or hidden depth. The other characters are similar. They're nice, but they're not very original or exciting. This is the first book in a new series, so presumably, more will be revealed about all of them that will help them feel more rounded and intriguing.

The book's plot is similar. It hinges on a simple whodunit premise, which is interesting enough, but not overly so. The pacing doesn't help. It's sllllooowww. Not a ton happens in the story and the Big Reveal at the end isn't much of a surprise, both of which makes AGONY HILL a bit of a dull read. Taylor's prose feels rather wooden in this novel, too, which doesn't help.

While I liked AGONY HILL overall, I also found it boring and forgettable, hence the three stars.

There's a lot going on in Agony Hill, and it focuses on Franklin Warren, who has been reassigned to the State Police in Vermont. He had been assigned to the police in New York, and he is still suffering from the tragic murder of his late wife, Maria, wondering who killed his beloved. The book takes place in the early 1960s and therefore incorporates the effects of the Vietnam War, the coming of an interstate that will affect, mostly negatively, the community, and finally, relies on his expertise to identify what happened to a local farmer, Hugh Weber: was he killed or did he kill himself?

Oddly, there are also people in Bethany, Vermont, the rural setting for this mystery, who discuss their connections having worked in intelligence in Cairo, the point of which is never quite clear. Ultimately, it turns out that Hugh Weber was a man of great wealth which not even his wife, pregnant and mother to four boys was aware of. She is intriguing, and we know that somehow she will survive and even thrive. Another character of note is Alice Bellows, a neighbor of Warren's and another Cairo connection. There is also a young wanderer camping in the woods who needs help and sustenance.

Few writers could have combined all of these characters so adeptly and with such care; Sarah Stewart Taylor creates a rural place of beauty and mystery, and the characters in the book somehow stand out individually and as members of a community, and the reader wants to always know more about them and their motives and desires. I definitely look forward to Taylor's next book and the characters who remain in Bethany, Vermont especially Warren, an engaging and likeable person.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

The synopsis had me jumping at the chance to read Agony Hill: unfortunately the book was lacking a strong plot and character development.

Entertaining in the cozy mystery genre. I didn’t find it a compelling story and it was fairly easy to figure out how the story would end. I suspect romance between a few people in the next title of the series as it certainly seems set up for that.

I liked this one and especially the setting and time period. I felt engaged with the story and characters. It was a good read

The first book in a new series by this author introduces Franklin Warren who has moved to a small New England town to recuperate from the murder of his wife in Boston. The murder of a local man in a barn fire is his first case and introduces him to the town people. Anothe prominent character is Alice Bellows, an amateur detective who has secrets of her own. I might have missed something with the latter character as I was left wondering more about her than Franklin Warren. The turbulent times of Vietnam are also introduced in the storyline which I found very interesting. A good read , I plan to go back and read the author's other books

I very much like the author’s Maggie D’Arcy series and I was happy to receive an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher.

This book, set in rural Vermont in the 1960, did not disappoint. The cast of characters was terrific and I enjoyed how they were introduced to the reader as Warren started investigating the murder of Hugh Weber. This book felt very wholesome in a number of ways and at times I felt like the time period could have been much earlier than the 60’s. If this ends up being the first in a series, I will definitely keep reading.

A New York investigator, Warren, relocates to quite Vermont and begins working to solve the mystery surrounding a suspicious death. The story takes place during the Vietnam draft, but those themes are not developed in the story. Warren has some troubled past, which also is not well developed. As the story concludes, and the mystery solved, I didn't feel like I knew the characters well. For this reason I am assigning 3 stars.