Simply Dead - (Will Rees Mystery) Large Print by Eleanor Kuhns (Hardcover)

About the Book

A midwife disappears after attending a birth only to be found by the search party wandering the woods during a blizzard without a coat or shoes. She claims to have been kidnapped but Will Rees has doubts. When two young men begin stalking the community in search of her and a young woman is found strangled, Rees endeavours to discover the truth.

Book Synopsis

A midwife disappears after attending the birth of a child in another community, leading to an investigation that uncovers innumerable lies and secrets.

1790s, Maine. In the depths of winter Hortense, a midwife, disappears after attending a birth in the woodlands. During the search Will Rees finds her struggling through the snow and woods without shoes or a coat.

After two young men begin stalking the community in search of her - including targeting Rees's own family - she is questioned further and claims she was kidnapped . . . but Rees and his wife Lydia are suspicious. It is agreed Hortense's presence is endangering everyone's safety and she needs to leave. As the arrangements are made she is hidden in Zion, the local Shaker community, only while there a Shaker Sister is murdered. Witnesses describe a man fitting Josiah Wooten's description, a ferocious man living in the woods with two young sons.

What is the truth behind Hortense's disappearance, and who is responsible for the death of the Shaker Sister?

Review Quotes

A fine mystery with satisfying characters that powerfully evokes the privations of the period'.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

An indefatigable, principled main character and an immersive early-republic setting, nicely delineating the life and times of the era, distinguish this historical mystery.'-- "Booklist"