Too Soon for Flowers

Lust, deceit, and murder bloom in old New England....

Spring, 1764. While the specter of smallpox stalks colonial Boston, much of the city seeks refuge in the burgeoning countryside. Restful, bucolic Bracebridge is one such haven, and young widow Charlotte Willett and her neighbor Richard Longfellow, scientist and gentleman farmer, host a handful of guests undergoing the generally accepted procedure of inoculation.

Yet shortly after the quarantine begins, one of the patients is found dead and...