Reviews

A Simple Murder by Eleanor Kuhns

vivicody's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

garrison1989's review against another edition

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2.0

I wasn't a huge fan of this novel it was dragged out. I enjoyed the beginning of the novel I liked how he was a weaver and traveled from place to place. I was happy he rekindled his relationship with his son. Lydia was a great character too not many women were so opinionated back then. although I felt there were too many suspects involved in the murder and I didn't like how it ended I really felt like it could of had more suspense.

pjvana's review against another edition

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4.0

A quick-read, mystery mixed with historical fiction. Though it starts out a little slowly, the mystery builds throughout as all of the characters begin to take shape. I am definitely going to read the next in the series!

tariqah's review against another edition

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4.0

Overall, the plot was fairly decent and kept me involved in the story all the way through.

kelz31's review against another edition

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I quite liked this mystery and read it pretty fast. I appreciated that the tedium of travel was represented by how much time was spent planning for and then taking trips to other farms. I did have a sense of where it all was going but welcomed the journey.

peggyemi's review against another edition

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3.0

I won this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway. I am a big fan of cozy mysteries and thought I would branch out to widen my range. This book sounded interesting so I entered the giveaway.

Will Rees is a widower and traveling weaver who has gone in search of his son, whom he left as a child. David has run away to become part of a Shaker community. Soon after Rees arrives at the community, a Shaker sister is murdered. Rees is at fist accused of the crime, but is eventually asked to investigate as he has experience solving puzzles in the army.

I found the book to be an interesting start to the series. My one problem was that many times the story didn't stay authentic to the period (1795). It sort of felt like she wasn't grounded in the period she was writing about. Some of that should have been flushed out by her editor. I found the story to be well written and I think I will give the second book in the series a try to see where the story goes.

sde's review against another edition

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3.0

I thought it was a good vacation/beach read, but it wasn't a gripping page turner the way many mysteries are. I didn't see the ending, but I didn't stay up all night because I needed to find out what happened.

I enjoyed the setting, and the bits about Shaker governance. I wish more of that had been interwoven into the story. I knew the romance was coming the minute the book mentioned Miss Farrell's auburn braid, and that annoyed me. I did like the two main characters/detectives, though.

nursenell's review against another edition

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5.0

I enjoyed this book. I have been interested in the Shakers since realizing some of my mother's ancestors appeared to be involved with the Enfield, CT Shaker community. The characters are well developed and the identity of the killer had me guessing until the end.

adrienneambo's review against another edition

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4.0

A highly touted debut by a librarian, a must read for me!!! Kuhns ability to transport the reader to the late 1700's Shaker community of Zion keeps the reader enthralled with mystery surrounding the murder of a young beautiful convert. Enter William Rees, a traveling weaver and ex-military investigator during the Revolutionary War, who makes it his mission to immerse himself in the community and solve the murder. The background story of Rees' relationship with his teen son and the romantic feelings toward Lydia a "shunned" Shaker cries for the hopefully continuation of the the book into a series.

asroka's review against another edition

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4.0

I picked up this book (after wanting to start it a year ago) for the setting: historical village murder mystery? Check. At times, the writing felt a bit dry and/or slow and some references were overused (like how many times there'd be a reference to the ladies' skirts as they moved). I'm aware there's only so many ways to note that woman was once again in a linen cap, or a ruffled cap, but it did feel repetitive. I really craved more world-building and detail in some other way. There were so many references to trips to various towns, names of places, and roads, but for some reason I still had a trouble painting a picture of the place and the people, much to my dismay. I feel like there was so much potential to go a little deeper, though I don't know how. Some things were detailed, so perhaps I just wasn't invested enough to envision the setting? Alas, I was still invested enough to keep reading, and am happy I did. I didn't entirely have it all figured out by the end, but knew the people who were interconnected. Overall, I liked the book (and I'd probably consider re-reading it in a handful of years once I hopefully forget the plot). I'm just leaving wanting a bit more.