Called to Justice

by Edith Maxwell

Overview

When Hannah Breed confides to midwife Rose Carroll that she's pregnant out of wedlock, Rose promises to help her through the pregnancy and figure out a way to break the news to her family. But that night, amid the noise and revelry of the Independence Day fireworks, Hannah is found shot dead.

After a former slave and fellow Quaker is accused of the murder, Rose delves into the crime, convinced of the man's innocence. An ill-mannered mill manager, an Irish immigrant, and the victim's young boyfriend come under suspicion even as Rose's future with her handsome doctor suitor becomes unsure. Rose continues to deliver babies and listen to secrets, finally focusing in on the culprit only to be threatened herself.

The book was a 2017 Agatha Award nominee for Best Historical Novel.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940164803698
Publisher:	Edith Maxwell
Publication date:	01/28/2021
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	553 KB

About the Author

Agatha Award winning author Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell lives with her beau north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. She blogs at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen twice a month and every weekday with the other Wicked Authors (wickedauthors.com). She hopes you’ll find her at www.edithmaxwell.com and on social media under both names.

Editorial Reviews

2017-01-23
A 19th-century Quaker midwife faces daunting complications when a young woman is murdered.On Independence Day 1888, Rose Carroll of Amesbury, Massachusetts, is approached by a fellow member of the Religious Society of Friends who's in desperate straits. Hannah Breed, who works at the Hamilton Mill with Rose's niece, tells Rose that she's pregnant, raped by a man she will not name. Before Rose can do anything to help, Hannah is shot dead at the fireworks Rose is attending with Dr. David Dodge, her beau. Although most people claim to have noticed nothing, Lester Colby, a manager at the Hamilton Mill, tells the police they should arrest Akwasi, a peaceful Quaker, merely because he's a black man. Although Rose had helped Detective Kevin Donovan on another case of murder (Delivering The Truth, 2016), he's annoyed when she persists in her belief that Akwasi is innocent, and she feels bound to take time from her duties as a midwife to help her friend. One of her trickier deliveries is that of Pearl Hoyle, Colby's daughter, whose husband has given her gonorrhea, an infection that could have terrible consequences for the baby. Rose's visits to Pearl give her more opportunity to study Colby, who has a nasty attitude and, according to his son-in-law, a lot of debts. Another millworker who lives in Hannah's boardinghouse accuses her of theft, but Rose does not believe the gentle girl could have been guilty. Despite help from an excellent lawyer, Akwasi is arrested for the murder. Rose redoubles her efforts to prove his innocence while dealing with her difficult decision to marry David, whose family is wealthy but not Quaker. An intriguing look at life in 19th-century New England, a heroine whose goodness guides all her decisions, and a mystery that surprises.

Kirkus Reviews