Set in 1960’s Vermont, Detective Warren is new to the small town. There is a man found dead in a burning barn and it is up to Warren to determine if the man committed suicide or if he was killed, and if so, who did it. This was a slow burn with a lot of descriptions of the small town, Bethany, but the pace did pick up. I am not usually a police mystery reader and didn’t realize this was one when I requested it. It was good. The plot was entertaining, and the writing was good. This story was told in 3rd person, which for me is sometimes hard to get into. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a good job. This is the first of a new series. We will see what comes next.

This was a really well done police mystery - which is not at all what I was expecting. I thought more historical fiction, which was a little disappointing. I liked the close knit neighborhood, the secrets that they were clearly keeping and the overall vibe of the book. I struggled with who to trust and guessing the end did not come easily. The descriptions of the town and all things going on were done perfectly. It was very easy to transport into the book. I struggled to review this as I am not a huge fan of police mysteries, so this obviously was not my cup of tea. I just felt that the book was well written, the characters were dynamic and I liked the overall plot.
Thank you Netgalley for my advanced audio and e copy.

Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor is the first book in a new historical mystery series featuring Detective Franklin Warren. Set in 1965 in Bethany, Vermont and the surrounding rural area, Warren has just joined the Vermont State Police and has responsibility for the southern part of the state. He’s not quite finished unpacking when he’s called to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Hugh Weber, a former New Yorker and believer in self-sufficiency and autonomy through a back-to-the-land culture, seems to have set his barn on fire, with him locked inside. However, Warren doesn’t think the case is that simple. Additionally, the people of Bethany seem to have secrets including Hugh’s wife Sylvie and Warren’s neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows.

The author does a great job of world-building. The setting and geography of Vermont came alive. This was also a time of change and conflict. Interstates were being built, new and more scientific investigative techniques were starting to be used, the Cold War was ongoing, and the Vietnam war and protests surrounding it were occurring regularly across the country. All of these came to life in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Stewart Taylor & Brilliance Audio for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

I’m not a huge historical fiction fan, but every once in a while, one will catch my eye. Sadly, I wasn’t a huge fan of Agony Hill. I didn’t dislike it. It just didn’t hit like I was hoping it would. Since I read so little historical fiction, I have extremely high standards, which I realize may be unfair, so I base my rating on other aspects of the book like writing, character development, etc. – things that are subjective.

First – I didn’t know at the time I read this that it was part of a series. If I had, I would have passed. I have way too many series going on at the moment & historical fiction is not a genre I really want to have a series going in. That just doesn’t sound appealing.

There was just a lot going on in this story. Too much, in my opinion. With so much going on, you’d think that the pacing would have been quick. It wasn’t. It DRAGGED.

I read 400+ books per year & slow-pacing is just not something I enjoy. Other than that, most of the characters were just so drab & boring. I wasn’t invested in any of them.

I do not plan to continue on with future books in this series.

BOOK REVIEW 📖
Thank you for the gifted copy @minotaur

Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor
Pub Date: August 6th

Synopsis: The first book in a new series about a detective in small town Vermont in the 1960s.

Thoughts: While this was not my typical type of read, I enjoyed it! The storyline was intriguing, and the writing was really great. There was a lot of attention to detail as the author painted a vivid picture of small town Vermont in a tumultuous time of change. Franklin Warren, the big city detective who has recently moved to a rural town, was well characterized and set up nicely for future books in the series. The mystery wasn’t too hard to figure out, but the journey to get to the conclusion was well done and still entertaining. Overall, if you’re a fan of this genre, I think you will really enjoy this one!

Read this if you like:
🔥 mystery
🔥 1960s
🔥 small town
🔥 police procedural

This book was actually quite brilliant. I loved the plot and how it all panned out in the end didn't go for this big cresendo but a more realistic conclusion. Books don't normally do this and this was a refreshing change.

I really like Warren. He arrives in the small town to become a detective after a great loss and is thrown right into the thick of it. You can see he wants to do a great job but also has a soft spot for the people he meets doing it.

Its a historical mystery with a moderate pace and some really wonderful dialogue. I am so glad this is a start of a series and cannot wait for book 2!

4 stars

AGONY HILL was an absorbing historical mystery that kept me engaged the entire time. I don't want to give anything away, but if you like a story filled with suspense, add this to your list. The audiobook was perfect to listen to on my way to and from work. Highly recommend.

3.5 stars

The writing here is picturesque and lush and paints a raw and authentic picture of Vermont. I enjoyed the mystery and the cast of characters, but I did find the pace a bit slow. All in all, this was an entertaining read.

I paired the audio and print and very much enjoyed the audio narration.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

4.25

When I dove into this, or rather pushed play on the audiobook, I didn’t realize it was going to be a mystery. It is, but it’s also just a good novel that happens to be a mystery. It’s historical fiction taking place in the 1960s, but nothing like you’d imagine if you heard that. The story is set in Vermont, though you would see it being somewhere in the wide open spaces of the Midwest or South. It does touch on the Vietnam war and the draft, but it’s very much on the periphery.

The feel of “Agony Hill” reminds and some of the characters remind me just a bit of “Where the Crawdads Sing”, even if not on the same level of storytelling. You really feel for the Weber family and don’t know what the answer could be or what you hope it could be, but the title, named after the location of their farm is apropos. The victim and subject of the murder investigation is truly no great loss.

I assume this is a standalone mystery, though there is more than one crime left unsolved so another book is not impossible. I liked Warren and his flaws. It was a little hard to keep some of the characters straight, especially those outside of the few most prominent characters. Though certainly not the best book I’ve ever read, it was certainly gripping. Even though I started this because I didn’t have access to my other audiobook in progress, it enthralled me enough to keep going and finishing in almost one sitting. That’s the sign of a good book.

The story’s narrator did a great job. I was surprise to hear a male voice, when it seems like most of what I hear reading my audiobooks are women. That may say more about what I like rather than the gender divide of audiobook narrators, but I would have imagined a female reading this. He does a great job of differentiating between characters without it being overdone theater and I was pleasantly surprised at his voice portrayal of the female characters which tend to sound like cliché high-pitched men in drag.

Thank you to the author Sarah Stewart Taylor, NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.