Death of a Dyer

April 22, 2013
Farmer Will Rees, the hero of Kuhn’s well-constructed second mystery set in late 18th-century Maine (after 2012’s A Simple Murder), is dumbfounded to learn that childhood friend Nate Bowditch, one of the county’s richest landowners, was beaten to death with a scutching knife—and that Bowditch’s 17-year-old son, Richard, is believed responsible. George Potter, the old friend and neighbor of Rees’s who conveys this tragic news, persuades the reluctant Rees, who broke with the victim years before, to leave his farm work and visit Bowditch’s widow that very day. Richard implicates himself by fleeing the area, but Rees, who developed his sleuthing skills while serving with the Continental Army, soon finds others with motives for the murder. Kuhns does a good job integrating the political developments of the time into the storyline, especially the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, and delivers a logical and surprising solution to this traditional whodunit.

May 15, 2013
Weaver Will Rees copes with family woes while investigating the murder of his childhood friend Nate Bowditch. Life may have been simpler in 18th-century Maine, as citizens of the newly minted republic sought to make their way in the still largely undeveloped United States. But families are always complicated. Will, a longtime widower, aches to be close to his teenage son David. But his relationship with Lydia, a refugee from a Shaker settlement, disrupts his path. His feelings toward his late wife Dolly still unresolved, he refuses to make Lydia his bride, choosing instead to hire her as his housekeeper. An urgent message from Molly Bowditch upsets Rees' life further. Her husband, Nate, whose passion for dyes matched Will's obsession with cloth, has been bludgeoned to death with a scutching knife. Local constable Caldwell suspects Nate's son Richard, though Augustus, the illegitimate son Nate's serving maid, Rachel, bore him, seems an equally likely candidate. Molly hires Will to clear Richard's name. But the more Will probes Molly's odd relationship with the local medic, Dr. Wrothman, and Richard's attachment to Elizabeth, daughter of land baron James Carleton, the murkier matters appear. Add a pair of slave catchers, a fire at Caldwell's jail and a cache of love letters in Nate's trunk, and this tale of simple country life turns into anything but. Kuhns' follow-up to Will's debut (A Simple Murder, 2012) offers a sensitive look into matters of the heart woven into a nifty puzzle.

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June 1, 2013

Will Rees is stunned to learn that his childhood friend and fellow weaver Nate Bowditch has been killed. Nate's widow, Molly, wants Will to ensure their son, Richard (the prime suspect), is not convicted of the crime. Will's memories of his youth don't necessarily jibe with the adults who now run the town. While Nate was dedicated to his trade, he also had secret success as a gambler, acquiring quite a bit of property. Will wonders if gambling debts might have motivated the murderer. Though a good investigator (skills he developed during the Revolutionary War), widower Will is naive about human behavior, often more comfortable being on the road as a traveling weaver than staying put on his farm. He is still regaining his teen son's trust and trying to understand his feelings for Lydia Jane, his Shaker friend. VERDICT Building on the success of her superb debut (A Simple Murder), Kuhns's second entry, while absorbing, occasionally falters because of her protagonist's inability to make a life. Her finely done historical makes frontier Maine come alive, but readers should start with the first title so as to appreciate Will's story.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2013
The sequel to A Simple Murder, which won the 2011 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel competition, picks up the story of Will Rees, an itinerant weaver who fought for the Continental Army 20 years earlier. During the Revolutionary War, Rees investigated and solved a homicide within the army. This time, Rees is driven by honor to find a killer when he learns that his best friend from childhood, Nate Bowditch, has been brutally murdered in his own home. The suspect is Nate's son, reportedly always in conflict with his father. The local constable refuses to look at any suspect beyond the son. Rees' motivation in trying to investigate is multilayered. He has his duty toward his old friend and his son, tinctured by guilt in letting the friendship go. What is fascinating here is watching how Rees' motivation increases with the difficulty of the investigationhe receives a cold reception at his old friend's home, especially cold from the local doctor, who seems to be involved with his friend's widow. Finding excuses and opportunities to investigate reveals the admirably flinty character of this sometime sleuth. Kuhns creates a marvelously chilly atmosphere throughout this suspense tale about seemingly upright people guarding evil secrets. Rees, the weaver, is a wonderful creation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)