Cradle to Grave

Will Rees is adjusting to life on his Maine farm in 1797, but he's already hungering for the freedom of the road, and his chance to travel comes sooner than he expects. Lydia has just received a letter from her old friend Mouse, a soft-spoken and gentle woman who now lives in the Shaker community in Mount Unity, New York. To Lydia and Rees's astonishment, she's in trouble with the law. She's kidnapped five children, claiming that their mother, Maggie Whitney, is unfit to care for them.Despite the wintry weather and icy roads, Rees and Lydia set out for New York, where they sadly conclude that Mouse is probably right and the children would be better off with her. There's nothing they can do for Mouse legally, though, and they reluctantly set out for home. But before they've travelled very far, they receive more startling news: Maggie Whitney has been found murdered, and Mouse is the prime suspect.In Cradle to Grave, Eleanor Kuhns returns with the clever plotting, atmospheric historical detail, and complexly drawn characters that have delighted fans and critics in her previous books.From BooklistA cry of help from a dear friend sends itinerant-weaver-turned-farmer Will Rees and his wife, Lydia, from Maine to the Shaker community of Mt. Unity, New York, in the winter of 1797. There Sister Hannah Moore, familiarly known as Mouse, is accused of kidnapping widow Maggie Whitney’s young children when Mouse seeks to rescue them from their alcoholic mother’s neglect. Then when Maggie is found dead in an open grave, Mouse becomes the prime suspect. With his detecting background, Rees assists the local constable in investigating the murder of Maggie, a poor woman who risked being “warned out” of her community. Rees believes two succeeding murders are related to Maggie’s, as he puts himself at risk and exposes small-town secrets, meanwhile bonding with the Whitney children and regretting missing much of his own son’s childhood. The third in this series (after Death of a Dyer, 2013) is notable for developing the characters of Will and Lydia, whose personal lives take a turn in the closing pages. Another eminently readable historical mystery, set in the post-Revolutionary years, from librarian Kuhns. --Michele Leber

Review"Kuhns hits all the right notes—a clever plot, well-rounded characters and a rich sense of place, time and culture—as she successfully weaves all elements together into an intelligent whole."—*Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Vivid and historically accurate…The atmosphere is often grim, as secrets are kept and revealed. Kuhns brings the political and social customs of the time to life with telling details and exact language."—RT Book Reviews* (4½ stars)

"Intriguing…readers will sympathize with Will, whose interactions with the children spur deep guilt about how uninvolved he was in the raising of David, his grown son."—Publishers Weekly