A Simple Murder

A Simple Murder (#201) by Eleanor Kuhns won a "First Crime Novel" award.  I found that it was a pretty standard murder mystery, but it did have an interesting setting.  When we watch crime dramas on TV, my husband almost always has the murderer correctly pegged by the first commercial break.  That was somewhat how I felt while reading this novel; I had things figured out by halfway through the book.  Of course, I did have to finish it to make sure I was right.  (I was!)

What made this book interesting to me was the setting of the murders in and around a rural Maine Shaker community in the late 1790s.  William Rees is an itinerant weaver who has left his farm and young son in the care of his sister and her husband in return for taking care of David as one of her own children.  On his latest visit home, Rees discovers that David has run away to a Shaker community and sets out in pursuit. The Shakers refuse to release David to Will at first, but they allow him to stay with them and try to mend his relationship with his son.  When a young woman of the community is murdered, David convinces the Shaker Elders to engage Will to investigate the crime, based on the experience Rees has gained in Washington's Continental Army, and his travels around the young country.  He reluctantly takes on former Shaker Lydia Jane Farrell as a chaperone acceptable to the Elders in order to question the Sisters of the community.  Other murders soon follow and Will soon finds himself and his son targets as the threads that bind the victims together are slowly revealed.

The details about the Shaker life style are interesting, especially if you don't know anything about this sect.  Ms. Kuhns describes many of the meals Will Rees enjoys with the community, and she's definitely right about how delicious they were.  If you ever have a chance, there are still Shaker Museums where visitors can sample authentic Shaker cooking and they're well worth a visit.  A number of years ago, I was fortunate enough to eat at the Shaker Village in Canterbury, New Hampshire.  At the time, two of the last remaining Eldresses were still in residence there.  I am sure that they have "gone home to Mother" by this time, but it was a fascinating alternative way of life,and a memorable visit.