Abigail Adams Mystery, No 3
Barbara Hamilton
aka
Barbara Hambly
Berkley Trade
October 4, 2011 / ISBN: 0425243206
Historical Mystery / America / Pre-Revolutionary war
Amazon
Reviewed
by Brenda Weeaks
Abigail Adams,
wife of Attorney John Adams is called to Harvard by her nephew Horace.
Horace is a sensitive sort of fellow. When Abigail arrives she finds
him ill then discovers he was asked to translate some Arabic letters
for a woman named Mrs Lake. He is then drugged without knowing it
and the driver attempts to kill him on the way back to the university.
Horace escapes and recovers. Next Senior George Fairfield is stabbed
to death and his slave is accused of the crime. They expect George's
father to arrive from Virginia to claim the slave and hang him.
Due to the clues left behind after George's murder, Abigail and
Horace know the slave is innocent. Abigail wants to keep the slave
out of the father·s vengeful hands. She goes as high as the
Governor, but in this mystery Abigail learns a hard lesson about
men in charge and how their goals take precedence - this includes
her husband and brother-in-law. The late George was a Tory who raised
a troop of mounted militia to move against the Sons of Liberty when
ordered by the King. George was also a womanizer and a heart breaker,
with a long list of resentful classmates. Abigail also needs to
solve the mystery of Mrs. Lake and why she wanted Horace dead.
To save the
slave, Abigail has to solve the murder, which means time away from
home and her children. Abigail is written as noble, intelligent,
and sometimes silently judgmental. And sometimes the way Sam and
John Adams speak to Abigail it's a wonder she didn't start the first
women's lib chapter· (Sorry, I digress.) I enjoyed the storyline,
the characters and immersed myself in the pre-revolutionary atmosphere,
which is well written and very thorough. The author often places
the Adams' personal, historical tidbits throughout the mystery,
such as John calling Abigail his pet name Portia and Sam calling
her Nab. You'll find references to the title Sup with the Devil
on pages 109 and 252.
If you·re
looking for a historical mystery written to test your sleuthing
skills and make you feel like you've traveled to another place and
time Sup With The Devil is the one.
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