In 1796 a traveling weaver, Will Rees discovers that his son, David, whom he has left in the care of his sister and her family has run away from home. His sister and her husband had mistreated David, and he sought shelter in a local Shaker community. Will tracks down David to the community and tries to reconcile with him. That night a young Shaker woman is shockingly murdered. Will served in the Continental Army and has investigative experience. On David’s recommendation the Shaker community requests that he stay and look into the murder. The atmosphere is haunting with historical details that bring this time period to life. A well written debut historical mystery that will keep readers completely engaged. A Simple Murder was the winner of the 2011 Mystery Writers/Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Competition - check it out @the library!
