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Abigail Adams #2
A Marked Man
Read Barbara Hamilton's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.
Abigail Adams could become my favorite historical sleuth. (Sharon Kay Penman)
Abigail Adams, wife of attorney John Adams-who is deeply involved with the Sons of Liberty-is shocked when one of the Sons is accused of murder. Did the crime arise from the romantic competition for the daughter of a prominent Royalist-or was it politically motivated? Abigail and John believe the accused is innocent, though the evidence against him is strong.
While John works to clear his client's name, Abigail begins her own investigation, and soon learns several unpleasant facts about the dead man, things that greatly increase the number of possible suspects. But as she pursues the truth, the killer pursues her- threatening not only Abigail but her vulnerable family.
Abigail Adams could become my favorite historical sleuth. (Sharon Kay Penman)
Abigail Adams, wife of attorney John Adams-who is deeply involved with the Sons of Liberty-is shocked when one of the Sons is accused of murder. Did the crime arise from the romantic competition for the daughter of a prominent Royalist-or was it politically motivated? Abigail and John believe the accused is innocent, though the evidence against him is strong.
While John works to clear his client's name, Abigail begins her own investigation, and soon learns several unpleasant facts about the dead man, things that greatly increase the number of possible suspects. But as she pursues the truth, the killer pursues her- threatening not only Abigail but her vulnerable family.
322 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2010
About the author
Barbara Hamilton
14 books42 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Pseudonym of Barbara Hambly.
Pseudonym of Barbara Hambly.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
November 2, 2010
I always have so much less to say about books I really loved versus those I didn't. A Marked Man is the second of Hamilton's series and I feel as though she's really improved on the original, providing a mystery gorgeously enmeshed with historical detail along with its fictional flights of fancy. The mystery felt more solid in this outing, as well, though in both instances, figuring it out is always secondary to me for how Hamilton takes you there. I'm newly fascinated with Abigail Adams and I adore what Hamilton's done with her as a protagonist, making her palatable to modern sensibility while keeping her historical sensibility intact. A wonderful read.
December 22, 2011
I really do want to like these books. And yet...
May 12, 2020
Second in the Abigail Adams amateur sleuth, historical mystery series and revolving around John Adams' wife, Abigail. The focus is on Abigail investigating John Knox's arrest in the Boston of 1774, ten weeks after the Boston Tea Party. Yeah, things are tense...
In 2011, A Marked Man was nominated for the Macavity Award for Sue Feder Historical Mystery.
My Take
Hamilton is amazing! I really felt like I was there in 1774. Too bad it was winter, for I was piling the blankets on while I read. Dang, it was cold. Just reading the conditions in which Harry is held is enough to chill you to the bone.
Hamilton talks about the cows coming into the spring milk, of making butter, of keeping the sabbath, of some of the *ick* habits in the pews(!), a fourteen-year-old responsible enough to prepare dinners(!!), the children's chores, and so much more that conveys life in Boston.
It's family life with four young children. And Abigail feels quite guilty about shirking her work while she investigates.
I LOVE that John doesn't treat Abigail like "the little woman". It's a fine line the Adamses straddle as they support insurrection against the Crown and yet try to instill right and wrong in their young children.
Do read the Author's Note at the end about John Knox. I had no idea he was such an influence on our country!
It certainly does ram home the need for the American Revolution...sigh...yeah, maybe we need another one. That double standard for girls and boys is too obvious and not much has changed. Men are still getting away with rape, much like Sir Jonathan, a pervert who's been allowed to get away with rape for years. Sounds #meToo-ish. Even Coldstone knows his reputation.
As for the Proprietors robbing the tenants they brought in to settle the land up in Maine...oy...
Things are fraught. John doesn't dare have any visibility in investigating Harry's arrest, as his membership in the Sons of Liberty is no secret, and it's likely that the Crown would arrest John! Verbal exchanges are cat-and-mouse as it is between Abigail and Coldstone.
Coldstone has his own game he has to play, for he believes in truth and justice while his superior, ahem, officer, wants easy.
Mrs Sandhayes is something else. So very condescending (and humorous) about life in the Colonies.
John Adams is preoccupied with a divorce case in which the husband beats his wife and has thrown her out of the house because he wants to marry someone else.
The Sons of Liberty do seem to have a pretty good information network.
Jesus, Fenton has been with Sir Jonathan for twenty years and he'd sack Fenton because he's sick?? What a jerk. Ah, geez, the reason why the locks are on the inside of all those doors in the hall of Pear Tree House... Cruel. Wicked. Yet so apt.
It's a tale that helps push home why we rebelled against the British. What's really sad? The reality of justice that happens at the end and is so heavily weighted in politics.
The Story
The evidence is obviously false, but the Crown wants Harry Knox dead for his political leanings. Unless they can persuade him to turn King's Evidence against his fellow members of the Sons of Liberty.
It's a race against time to prove his innocence or...
The Characters
Abigail Adams, a.k.a., Portia, is married to John Adams, a.k.a., Lysander, a very busy lawyer as well as a Son of Liberty. Their children include not-quite-nine-year-old Nabby, six-year-old John Quincy Adams, three-year-old Charley, and eighteen-month-old Tommy. The fourteen-year-old Pattie Clarke is their hired girl and practically family, the daughter of neighbors of the family farm in Braintree. John Thaxter is John's law clerk. Semiramis and Cleopatra are the family cows.
Abigail's family includes a parson father, Mary and Betsy are her sisters, and William is her delinquent brother. Silas Greenleaf is a friend of the family who will buy Sheba's children. More of the family includes the Smiths, Quincys, and Tufts. Asa Shapleigh had been murdered years ago.
Sam Adams is John's cousin and a fellow Son of Liberty. Bess is his wife, and they live on Purchase Street. Surry is their servant-woman. Old Deacon Adams had been Sam's dad.
The Sons of Liberty are...
...technically, a terrorist organization, battling against the Crown. The inner circle includes John; Sam; Revere; John Hancock, a smuggler; and, Ben Edes, who is the publisher of the Gazette.
Paul Revere is a silversmith, the street-level organizer of the Sons of Liberty's information network, and has served as a clerk of the North Square Market. Rachel is his wife. He has a thirteen-year-old son, young Paul Revere.
Henry "Harry" Knox is a bookseller who surreptitiously prints seditious broadsides written by the Sons and John. In his recent past, he was known as a fistfighter and is second-in-command of the Boston Grenadiers, a patriot militia company. His brother Billy is fifteen.
The Butlers are Abigail and John's next-door neighbors. Arabella Butler lost her three-year-old son. Her cooper husband, Tom, has apprentices, including Shim Walton and Jed. Ehud Hanson is a shoemaker and the neighbor on the other side of the Adamses.
The Reverend Cooper preaches. Mrs Hitchbourne attends the service. Rob Newman is the sexton at Christ's Church. Ezra Logan mans a skiff, the Katrina , to transport all manner of goods. Frederick North is a sugar purveyor. Brainert Howell rented his horse to Sir Jonathan. Dr Joseph Warren is the Adams' physician. Walter Clegg is the ferryman for the Winissimet Ferry while Obed Hussey is the ferryman for the Charles Town Ferry. Thurlow Apthorp, a real estate speculator, owns Pear Tree House and has rented it to Mr Toby Elkins of Bridgetown. Mr Stanley is a portrait painter...and not very good. Jed Paley has a fast horse. Captain Nesbitt has been anxious to set sail with the Saturn.
The Salutation is a notorious Whig tavern. The Dressed Ship has terrible butter. The Spancel is the tavern frequented by the governor's footmen and grooms. The Sons of Liberty frequently meet in the Green Dragon. The Man-o'-War is a taproom on Ship Street owned by Mrs Klinker and used as an accommodation address. I think the Horn Spoon is an inn run by Mrs Nevers.
The toad-eating Thomas Fluckner is a wealthy Tory merchant with lands in Maine; Hannah is his wife. Lucy Fluckner is his headstrong daughter...who's in love with Harry. Philomela is Lucy's maid. Hercules is their obese pug. Mrs Margaret Sandhayes is a down-at-heels friend of the family from England who chaperones Lucy. And she cheats at cards. Bathsheba "Sheba" is a slave woman servant who has disappeared, leaving two children behind: Marcellina "Marcie" and baby Stephen. Millward Wingate works for Fluckner and claims to be a witness. Mr Barnaby is the Fluckner butler; his wife, Mrs Emma Barnaby, has charge of the maids and the sewing. Mrs Prawle is the cook.
Caroline Hartnell is having a loo party. Gwen Pugh is her woman-servant. Mrs Hartnell seems to be interested in the dashing Major Usselby. Seems a Mr Smyles from New York also caused a scandal. A Mr Vassall... Felicity Gardiner claims her husband really owns the Maine lands.
Sir Jonathan Cottrell is the King's Special Commissioner who intends to be Lucy's fiancé while he collects evidence about the Sons. He's staying with the governor. David Fenton is the commissioner's valet who is sick.
Governor Hutchinson is quite decent except that he hands out offices to all his cronies and only sees his own side of things. Mr Thirsk is the governor's butler. Mr Buttrick is his steward and married to Mattie, Emma Barnaby's sister. Mr Grant Sellon is his coachman. William Havisham is the head stable boy. Dr Rowe is his personal physician.
Guests at the governor's ball include Mr Apthorp (Seth Balfour is his coachman); Mr Bowdoin, Sr, (Arthur Cover is his footman); Mr Vassall (Nicholas Lane is his under-footman); and, the Sumners (Belinda Sumner is married but still talked about).
Boston City Jail
Hoyle is the corrupt jail keeper.
Castle Island is...
...a brick fortress in the bay. Colonel Alexander Leslie, the second son of the Earl of Leven, commands the Sixty-fourth Regiment that occupies the fort. Major Salisbury is Coldstone's superior officer. Lieutenant Rufus Dowling is an Army surgeon newly arrived from the Indies. Mr Purfoy is a midshipman.
Lieutenant Jeremy Coldstone is the Assistant Provost Marshal of the regiment who became friends with Abigail in The Ninth Daughter , 1. Sergeant Muldoon, Farquhar, and Lieutenants Stevenson and Barclay work with Lt Coldstone.
Many of those arrested by the Crown are tried in the Admiralty Courts in Halifax. Captain Dashwood commands the Incitatus , which is due from Jamaica to take Knox to Halifax.
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Mary Teasel, who has a prickly independent spirit, is one of John Adams' clients. Her lousy husband is Ham Teasel.
Boothbay, Maine
Mr Bingham is Fluckner's agent for his land in Maine. He also handles the timber shipping for several of the Great Proprietors and owns a schooner, the Hetty . Hilda Sturmer is Bingham's milkmaid, and she gets around. Quimby owns the public house.
Heavens Rejoice "Hev" Miller captains the Magpie . His cousins — Eli Putnam (the ship's boy) and Matthias Brown — are the crew. Leviathan "Levi" Miller is Hev's sister.
Bridgeton, Barbados
Sir Damien Purcell is on the governor's council. Fanny Gill is the daughter of a mantua maker who was paid off. Cassandra Palmer ran off with a Captain Jellicoe. Her brother, Androcles Palmer, is an actor. Mrs Cherne is paying his bills in Boston. Blaylock is part of Palmer's acting troupe.
Spain
There's a suspicion that the Marques de Tallegas wanted to stay on Sir Jonathan's good side.
London
Tredgold was Sybilla Seaford's lover. Until she was raped by Sir Jonathan. Her sister, Margaret Seaford, was said to have committed suicide.
The Cover and Title
The cover is much warmer with its gold-trimmed, red satin draperies, pulled back and framing the multi-paned window that looks out over a nighttime city street. A red valance that's heavily embroidered in gold has a center cameo of Abigail. In the windowsill is a blown-out candle in a brass candle stick and a ball of green yarn next to a black cat sitting patiently watching out the window at a man in a greatcoat and tricorn hat walking down the street where buildings meet. There's a full moon in a cloudy sky. A heap festooned with a red scarf is piled on the street just above the window sill. The background is a wall that gradates from a really deep red-black to a medium gray at the bottom. At the very top above the valance is the series information in gold. The title is in white on the left side of the window above the cat's head. The rest of the text is in white below the windowsill, starting with a testimonial, the author's name, and then an info blurb.
The title refers to Sir Jonathan, for he had made himself A Marked Man.
In 2011, A Marked Man was nominated for the Macavity Award for Sue Feder Historical Mystery.
My Take
Hamilton is amazing! I really felt like I was there in 1774. Too bad it was winter, for I was piling the blankets on while I read. Dang, it was cold. Just reading the conditions in which Harry is held is enough to chill you to the bone.
Hamilton talks about the cows coming into the spring milk, of making butter, of keeping the sabbath, of some of the *ick* habits in the pews(!), a fourteen-year-old responsible enough to prepare dinners(!!), the children's chores, and so much more that conveys life in Boston.
It's family life with four young children. And Abigail feels quite guilty about shirking her work while she investigates.
I LOVE that John doesn't treat Abigail like "the little woman". It's a fine line the Adamses straddle as they support insurrection against the Crown and yet try to instill right and wrong in their young children.
Do read the Author's Note at the end about John Knox. I had no idea he was such an influence on our country!
It certainly does ram home the need for the American Revolution...sigh...yeah, maybe we need another one. That double standard for girls and boys is too obvious and not much has changed. Men are still getting away with rape, much like Sir Jonathan, a pervert who's been allowed to get away with rape for years. Sounds #meToo-ish. Even Coldstone knows his reputation.
"He was one of those men who seem to believe that servant-girls choose to be so because they're lusty, not because they're poor — even those who never choose their condition at all.Considering that that double standard existed between classes with men of a lower class being treated like women were, you'd think they'd be a little more compassionate.
As for the Proprietors robbing the tenants they brought in to settle the land up in Maine...oy...
Things are fraught. John doesn't dare have any visibility in investigating Harry's arrest, as his membership in the Sons of Liberty is no secret, and it's likely that the Crown would arrest John! Verbal exchanges are cat-and-mouse as it is between Abigail and Coldstone.
Coldstone has his own game he has to play, for he believes in truth and justice while his superior, ahem, officer, wants easy.
Mrs Sandhayes is something else. So very condescending (and humorous) about life in the Colonies.
John Adams is preoccupied with a divorce case in which the husband beats his wife and has thrown her out of the house because he wants to marry someone else.
"Honestly, I understand why ladies are never the heroines of anything, they simply cannot get away from their kitchens long enough to rescue anyone."
The Sons of Liberty do seem to have a pretty good information network.
Jesus, Fenton has been with Sir Jonathan for twenty years and he'd sack Fenton because he's sick?? What a jerk. Ah, geez, the reason why the locks are on the inside of all those doors in the hall of Pear Tree House... Cruel. Wicked. Yet so apt.
It's a tale that helps push home why we rebelled against the British. What's really sad? The reality of justice that happens at the end and is so heavily weighted in politics.
"Justice is justice and does not — or should not — read the political newspapers."
The Story
The evidence is obviously false, but the Crown wants Harry Knox dead for his political leanings. Unless they can persuade him to turn King's Evidence against his fellow members of the Sons of Liberty.
It's a race against time to prove his innocence or...
The Characters
Abigail Adams, a.k.a., Portia, is married to John Adams, a.k.a., Lysander, a very busy lawyer as well as a Son of Liberty. Their children include not-quite-nine-year-old Nabby, six-year-old John Quincy Adams, three-year-old Charley, and eighteen-month-old Tommy. The fourteen-year-old Pattie Clarke is their hired girl and practically family, the daughter of neighbors of the family farm in Braintree. John Thaxter is John's law clerk. Semiramis and Cleopatra are the family cows.
Abigail's family includes a parson father, Mary and Betsy are her sisters, and William is her delinquent brother. Silas Greenleaf is a friend of the family who will buy Sheba's children. More of the family includes the Smiths, Quincys, and Tufts. Asa Shapleigh had been murdered years ago.
Sam Adams is John's cousin and a fellow Son of Liberty. Bess is his wife, and they live on Purchase Street. Surry is their servant-woman. Old Deacon Adams had been Sam's dad.
The Sons of Liberty are...
...technically, a terrorist organization, battling against the Crown. The inner circle includes John; Sam; Revere; John Hancock, a smuggler; and, Ben Edes, who is the publisher of the Gazette.
Paul Revere is a silversmith, the street-level organizer of the Sons of Liberty's information network, and has served as a clerk of the North Square Market. Rachel is his wife. He has a thirteen-year-old son, young Paul Revere.
Henry "Harry" Knox is a bookseller who surreptitiously prints seditious broadsides written by the Sons and John. In his recent past, he was known as a fistfighter and is second-in-command of the Boston Grenadiers, a patriot militia company. His brother Billy is fifteen.
The Butlers are Abigail and John's next-door neighbors. Arabella Butler lost her three-year-old son. Her cooper husband, Tom, has apprentices, including Shim Walton and Jed. Ehud Hanson is a shoemaker and the neighbor on the other side of the Adamses.
The Reverend Cooper preaches. Mrs Hitchbourne attends the service. Rob Newman is the sexton at Christ's Church. Ezra Logan mans a skiff, the Katrina , to transport all manner of goods. Frederick North is a sugar purveyor. Brainert Howell rented his horse to Sir Jonathan. Dr Joseph Warren is the Adams' physician. Walter Clegg is the ferryman for the Winissimet Ferry while Obed Hussey is the ferryman for the Charles Town Ferry. Thurlow Apthorp, a real estate speculator, owns Pear Tree House and has rented it to Mr Toby Elkins of Bridgetown. Mr Stanley is a portrait painter...and not very good. Jed Paley has a fast horse. Captain Nesbitt has been anxious to set sail with the Saturn.
The Salutation is a notorious Whig tavern. The Dressed Ship has terrible butter. The Spancel is the tavern frequented by the governor's footmen and grooms. The Sons of Liberty frequently meet in the Green Dragon. The Man-o'-War is a taproom on Ship Street owned by Mrs Klinker and used as an accommodation address. I think the Horn Spoon is an inn run by Mrs Nevers.
The toad-eating Thomas Fluckner is a wealthy Tory merchant with lands in Maine; Hannah is his wife. Lucy Fluckner is his headstrong daughter...who's in love with Harry. Philomela is Lucy's maid. Hercules is their obese pug. Mrs Margaret Sandhayes is a down-at-heels friend of the family from England who chaperones Lucy. And she cheats at cards. Bathsheba "Sheba" is a slave woman servant who has disappeared, leaving two children behind: Marcellina "Marcie" and baby Stephen. Millward Wingate works for Fluckner and claims to be a witness. Mr Barnaby is the Fluckner butler; his wife, Mrs Emma Barnaby, has charge of the maids and the sewing. Mrs Prawle is the cook.
Caroline Hartnell is having a loo party. Gwen Pugh is her woman-servant. Mrs Hartnell seems to be interested in the dashing Major Usselby. Seems a Mr Smyles from New York also caused a scandal. A Mr Vassall... Felicity Gardiner claims her husband really owns the Maine lands.
Sir Jonathan Cottrell is the King's Special Commissioner who intends to be Lucy's fiancé while he collects evidence about the Sons. He's staying with the governor. David Fenton is the commissioner's valet who is sick.
Governor Hutchinson is quite decent except that he hands out offices to all his cronies and only sees his own side of things. Mr Thirsk is the governor's butler. Mr Buttrick is his steward and married to Mattie, Emma Barnaby's sister. Mr Grant Sellon is his coachman. William Havisham is the head stable boy. Dr Rowe is his personal physician.
Guests at the governor's ball include Mr Apthorp (Seth Balfour is his coachman); Mr Bowdoin, Sr, (Arthur Cover is his footman); Mr Vassall (Nicholas Lane is his under-footman); and, the Sumners (Belinda Sumner is married but still talked about).
Boston City Jail
Hoyle is the corrupt jail keeper.
Castle Island is...
...a brick fortress in the bay. Colonel Alexander Leslie, the second son of the Earl of Leven, commands the Sixty-fourth Regiment that occupies the fort. Major Salisbury is Coldstone's superior officer. Lieutenant Rufus Dowling is an Army surgeon newly arrived from the Indies. Mr Purfoy is a midshipman.
Lieutenant Jeremy Coldstone is the Assistant Provost Marshal of the regiment who became friends with Abigail in The Ninth Daughter , 1. Sergeant Muldoon, Farquhar, and Lieutenants Stevenson and Barclay work with Lt Coldstone.
Many of those arrested by the Crown are tried in the Admiralty Courts in Halifax. Captain Dashwood commands the Incitatus , which is due from Jamaica to take Knox to Halifax.
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Mary Teasel, who has a prickly independent spirit, is one of John Adams' clients. Her lousy husband is Ham Teasel.
Boothbay, Maine
Mr Bingham is Fluckner's agent for his land in Maine. He also handles the timber shipping for several of the Great Proprietors and owns a schooner, the Hetty . Hilda Sturmer is Bingham's milkmaid, and she gets around. Quimby owns the public house.
Heavens Rejoice "Hev" Miller captains the Magpie . His cousins — Eli Putnam (the ship's boy) and Matthias Brown — are the crew. Leviathan "Levi" Miller is Hev's sister.
Bridgeton, Barbados
Sir Damien Purcell is on the governor's council. Fanny Gill is the daughter of a mantua maker who was paid off. Cassandra Palmer ran off with a Captain Jellicoe. Her brother, Androcles Palmer, is an actor. Mrs Cherne is paying his bills in Boston. Blaylock is part of Palmer's acting troupe.
Spain
There's a suspicion that the Marques de Tallegas wanted to stay on Sir Jonathan's good side.
London
Tredgold was Sybilla Seaford's lover. Until she was raped by Sir Jonathan. Her sister, Margaret Seaford, was said to have committed suicide.
The Cover and Title
The cover is much warmer with its gold-trimmed, red satin draperies, pulled back and framing the multi-paned window that looks out over a nighttime city street. A red valance that's heavily embroidered in gold has a center cameo of Abigail. In the windowsill is a blown-out candle in a brass candle stick and a ball of green yarn next to a black cat sitting patiently watching out the window at a man in a greatcoat and tricorn hat walking down the street where buildings meet. There's a full moon in a cloudy sky. A heap festooned with a red scarf is piled on the street just above the window sill. The background is a wall that gradates from a really deep red-black to a medium gray at the bottom. At the very top above the valance is the series information in gold. The title is in white on the left side of the window above the cat's head. The rest of the text is in white below the windowsill, starting with a testimonial, the author's name, and then an info blurb.
The title refers to Sir Jonathan, for he had made himself A Marked Man.
October 21, 2018
A Marked Man by Barbara Hamilton is the second book of the Abigail Adams historical mystery series set in 1774 Boston. In the months following the Boston Tea Party, tension is high between the Redcoats and rebels. A young man engaged to one of Abigail's friends is framed for murder. He will soon be transported to the offshore prison island, tried by an all-Redcoat jury, and hung. Abigail hates to see injustice, and wants to uncover sufficient evidence to create reasonable doubt. There is only one Redcoat officer who cares about the truth. Abigail must find evidence of another killer that will not only convince the officer, but enable him to convince his superiors. It's winter, bitterly cold, and travel is difficult. Yet travel Abigail must, following the trail of the murder victim's recent trip to Maine, questioning those who saw him along the way. When Abigail gets close to the truth, the killer attempts to kill the entire Adams family. From that point, Abigail is fighting for her own and her children's lives, not just trying to right a wrong.
December 2, 2010
Abigail Adams is a fascinating woman and it was brilliant of Barbara Hamilton to choose her as the amateur detective in this series of mysteries set in colonial Boston (the first was The Ninth Daughter.) With the help of her husband, John, the Sons of Liberty, including Sam Adams and Paul Revere, and a handsome British officer as chilly as his name, Lieutenant Coldstone, Abigail Adams undertakes investigations that the British do not care about and redirects them when they are misguided.
In A Marked Man, AA races against the wind and tides to prevent Henry Knox from being transported to Halifax to be tried for the murder of a British agent. We know she will be successful because this is the Henry Knox who provided the cannons from Ft Ticonderoga that allowed Washington to drive the British out of Boston, and who lends his name to Knoxville and Fort Knox. (Query: why is he so remembered in Tennessee and Kentucky and not in Maine and Massachusetts?)
A Marked Man teems with eccentric characters, including an impoverished and crippled English woman who acts as chaperone for Knox's sweetheart, Lucy Flucker, the daughter of a rich Loyalist, whom Knox eventually married. Two of the British officers are conflicted men who in the face of almost total non-cooperation from the rebelling Bostonians, are trying to do their duty and serve justice - as they see it. Lucy Fluckner, fictionally as in history, is large and full of life.
The book is full of the details of colonial living: daily bread baking and unending housework, icy mud in the streets that requires women to wear iron clogs to keep their skirts clean, frigid houses and military offices, the resort to chamomile tea because of the colonists' boycott of British tea in the months after the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773.
Barbara Hamilton, it turns out, is Barbara Hambly, the author of the Benjamin January mystery series, about a free man of color who trained as a physician in France but is unable to practice his profession in 1830s New Orleans. Another fine series.
In A Marked Man, AA races against the wind and tides to prevent Henry Knox from being transported to Halifax to be tried for the murder of a British agent. We know she will be successful because this is the Henry Knox who provided the cannons from Ft Ticonderoga that allowed Washington to drive the British out of Boston, and who lends his name to Knoxville and Fort Knox. (Query: why is he so remembered in Tennessee and Kentucky and not in Maine and Massachusetts?)
A Marked Man teems with eccentric characters, including an impoverished and crippled English woman who acts as chaperone for Knox's sweetheart, Lucy Flucker, the daughter of a rich Loyalist, whom Knox eventually married. Two of the British officers are conflicted men who in the face of almost total non-cooperation from the rebelling Bostonians, are trying to do their duty and serve justice - as they see it. Lucy Fluckner, fictionally as in history, is large and full of life.
The book is full of the details of colonial living: daily bread baking and unending housework, icy mud in the streets that requires women to wear iron clogs to keep their skirts clean, frigid houses and military offices, the resort to chamomile tea because of the colonists' boycott of British tea in the months after the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773.
Barbara Hamilton, it turns out, is Barbara Hambly, the author of the Benjamin January mystery series, about a free man of color who trained as a physician in France but is unable to practice his profession in 1830s New Orleans. Another fine series.
July 10, 2017
I enjoyed this second Abigail Adams Mystery even more than the first! The political tensions set the stage for a rebel to be easily framed for the murder of a greatly despised Tory who had come to do business for the crown, and was also about his own business of ruining young ladies at will. Tying this story to a sermon from the puritan pulpit which focused on the searing of a conscience to the point of being blinded to all but ones own purposes and desires, reflected the "marked" souls of both the victim and the one who sought revenge. Those seeking to clear the name of the accused, ended up not only using the rudimentary forensic science of the day, and the willingness to seek out details that many over looked, but it also invited the very basics of profiling to be introduced as the motive was sought, and more than one murder rose to the surface in this case. Disguises, forgery and great skills in acting all come to play in this frantic search for the truth, under the pressure of politically motivated prosecution and weather related dead lines.
The justice system and politics of this pre-revolutionary mystery are masterfully revealed in the unfolding of this well spun tale! Good read!
The justice system and politics of this pre-revolutionary mystery are masterfully revealed in the unfolding of this well spun tale! Good read!
October 7, 2021
A thrilling read, especially towards the end. Unlike The Ninth Daughter, I had completely forgotten the plot of this second Abigail Adams and was as shocked as any of those in Boston at the dénouement. And at the explanation in the historical note that follows that two characters whom I’d assumed Hamilton/Hambly had invented for her story were quite real, and important in the Revolution, and in fact that the man’s name is known to most Americans and to a large portion of the literate population in the rest of the world. That is, we know the name, we just don’t know it’s his.
I do have a bone to pick with the author over a minor point. Every day in both Daughter and A Marked Man is bone-chilling, bitterly cold. And there is a strong suggestion that every day in between them was too. Now I don’t technically live in New England, but five minutes on the Interstate and I’m there. And in my many years, I’ve never seen a winter where there were no days of thaw. At the very least, days where the temperature is still below freezing, but the air is calm, the sun is bright, and the icicles begin melting.
I do have a bone to pick with the author over a minor point. Every day in both Daughter and A Marked Man is bone-chilling, bitterly cold. And there is a strong suggestion that every day in between them was too. Now I don’t technically live in New England, but five minutes on the Interstate and I’m there. And in my many years, I’ve never seen a winter where there were no days of thaw. At the very least, days where the temperature is still below freezing, but the air is calm, the sun is bright, and the icicles begin melting.
June 20, 2021
I heartily enjoyed this series 6ish years ago, delighting in Abigail Adams, Colonial Shamus. I reread this volume this month during/after my first ever trip to Boston. The new locational and historical context elevated my understanding of the book and made the places come alive, having just walked The Freedom Trail and visited so many old cemeteries, imagining what Long Wharf would’ve looked like then. Many modern streets are named for the main and peripheral characters in this story. I was so saddened to realize that Abigail’s young doctor friend, Dr Joseph Warren, would soon die in the final moments of fighting on Breed’s Hill (Bunker Hill).
The historical language and style of these novels always took me some time to fall back into but I enjoyed all three, and have much lamented that there *are* just the three books in this series.
The historical language and style of these novels always took me some time to fall back into but I enjoyed all three, and have much lamented that there *are* just the three books in this series.
December 25, 2017
This is the second book in the Abigail Adams series. Abigail is pulled into a murder mystery when a British officer is murdered, and the accused, Henry Knox, is part of the Sons of Liberty. If he is put on trial, their organization risks exposure. Henry has affections for Lucy, who was to be betrothed to the officer, and she loves him as well. Abigail becomes convinced that the disappearance of a slave may be the key to unraveling the whole case. As she digs in for clues, she struggles with her desires to find the truth and her guilt over her responsibilities to her family.
September 17, 2018
This is the second book in the Abigail Adams mystery series. It is filled with murder, mystery, double crossing, revenge, conspiracy and betrayal.
I could not guessed who had done the murder and it was a surprise when the truth gets out in the end. This books is even more interesting than the previous one. I love the historical period and the way the story was told.
I love the book and recommend it to people who like mystery and history.
I could not guessed who had done the murder and it was a surprise when the truth gets out in the end. This books is even more interesting than the previous one. I love the historical period and the way the story was told.
I love the book and recommend it to people who like mystery and history.
October 21, 2017
I'm a huge fan of Abigail Adams and this was a great mystery, set on the eve of the Revolutionary War, shortly after the Tea Party. The mystery itself was satisfying--but the best part is seeing the Adams family, young children everywhere, and the relationship between John and Abigail, as well as with the Sons of Liberty leaders, Sam Adams and Paul Revere.
February 7, 2018
Abigail Adams wife of attorney John Adams believes in protecting the innocent and when a young man is wrongly accused of murder she sets out to do her own investigating which in turn gets her in and her family in trouble. Abigail continues to investigate and pushes her own danger aside.
June 6, 2018
I saw this book at the library and thought I'd give it a chance. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the historical aspects, even if some things were changed for the story. Abigail Adams came across as a well thought out character.
February 4, 2020
The mystery itself was good, but I can't believe Abigail's lifestyle. The way she left her kids at home with the young maid while she went around being a detective was just not believable. Okay, maybe I should suspend disbelief if I continue to read this series and remember that it's FICTION.
May 11, 2020
Abigail risks her life and family to defend one of the Sons of Liberty who has been accused of murder. A fast-paced, well-researched historical mystery, with credible characters.
July 24, 2020
Enjoyable and informative.
January 13, 2021
Abigail Adams is on the trail of a killer. Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and the Sons of Liberty drop by to help and protect. Even the British have a hand in catching the guilty. Fun!
May 29, 2011
A Marked Man by Barbara Hamilton
Berkley Prime Crime, 2010
322 pages
Historical Mystery
3.5/5 stars
Sequel to The Ninth Daughter
Source: Library
After being intrigued by the premise of Abigail Adams as a detective, I knew I'd want to read the second book, hoping for an even better story. I was rewarded because I thought this story was much tighter but with just as much historical detail and insight.
Mystery first. Sir Jonathan Cottrell, Loyalist and would-be fiance to wealthy merchant's daughter Lucy is found murdered. The arrested suspect is Henry Knox, Patriot and another would-be fiance to Lucy except that he actually loves her while Cottrell loves her money. Of course Abigail knows Knox didn't do it because he was busy printing for the Sons of Liberty but she embarks on a quest to find legitimate outside proof that someone else committed the crime. As Abigail investigates, she discovers many who want Cottrell dead but many red herrings and dead ends that slow her discovery of the true mastermind behind his death.
The role of women is again examined. The ability of (wealthy, white) men to act largely without impunity is stressed as Cottrell was a notorious scoundrel who disgraced many a young woman, those with money and those without. Bathsheba was a slave harassed by him who mysteriously disappeared around the time of his death, leaving behind two very young children. Abigail believes it must has been forcible because a mother wouldn't leave her kids like that but not everyone agrees. Lucy is in a difficult position as an heiress Patriot to an imperious Loyalist father who would do almost anything to prevent her from marrying someone he doesn't like. Abigail also has her own struggles with guilt and her Puritan upbringing. She knows that she should be at home, caring for her home and children but with the able assistance of Pattie, she frequently leaves the hated household chores in order to sleuth. There are more instances, but these are a representative few that hopefully show why I liked this book.
The historical picture painted is also fantastic with a bit more John Adams than the first book as well as lots of Paul Revere and Samuel Adams in addition to fictional constructs who portray the varying opinions in the Boston of 1774.
My biggest problem, as with the first book, was the writing style, which I'm still having trouble with. It seems very old-fashioned, which is good for a historical fiction novel, but I struggled with getting attached and fully immersed. I'm aware that this complaint is very much about me and my taste and I did find this easier going than the first book so I have hope for the third book being even better!
Unlike the first book, this one has a historical note at the end describing the life of Henry and Lucy Knox (yes, they are able to get married). Among other roles, Knox was the first Secretary of War for America and he and Lucy had a long and devoted marriage.
Berkley Prime Crime, 2010
322 pages
Historical Mystery
3.5/5 stars
Sequel to The Ninth Daughter
Source: Library
After being intrigued by the premise of Abigail Adams as a detective, I knew I'd want to read the second book, hoping for an even better story. I was rewarded because I thought this story was much tighter but with just as much historical detail and insight.
Mystery first. Sir Jonathan Cottrell, Loyalist and would-be fiance to wealthy merchant's daughter Lucy is found murdered. The arrested suspect is Henry Knox, Patriot and another would-be fiance to Lucy except that he actually loves her while Cottrell loves her money. Of course Abigail knows Knox didn't do it because he was busy printing for the Sons of Liberty but she embarks on a quest to find legitimate outside proof that someone else committed the crime. As Abigail investigates, she discovers many who want Cottrell dead but many red herrings and dead ends that slow her discovery of the true mastermind behind his death.
The role of women is again examined. The ability of (wealthy, white) men to act largely without impunity is stressed as Cottrell was a notorious scoundrel who disgraced many a young woman, those with money and those without. Bathsheba was a slave harassed by him who mysteriously disappeared around the time of his death, leaving behind two very young children. Abigail believes it must has been forcible because a mother wouldn't leave her kids like that but not everyone agrees. Lucy is in a difficult position as an heiress Patriot to an imperious Loyalist father who would do almost anything to prevent her from marrying someone he doesn't like. Abigail also has her own struggles with guilt and her Puritan upbringing. She knows that she should be at home, caring for her home and children but with the able assistance of Pattie, she frequently leaves the hated household chores in order to sleuth. There are more instances, but these are a representative few that hopefully show why I liked this book.
The historical picture painted is also fantastic with a bit more John Adams than the first book as well as lots of Paul Revere and Samuel Adams in addition to fictional constructs who portray the varying opinions in the Boston of 1774.
My biggest problem, as with the first book, was the writing style, which I'm still having trouble with. It seems very old-fashioned, which is good for a historical fiction novel, but I struggled with getting attached and fully immersed. I'm aware that this complaint is very much about me and my taste and I did find this easier going than the first book so I have hope for the third book being even better!
Unlike the first book, this one has a historical note at the end describing the life of Henry and Lucy Knox (yes, they are able to get married). Among other roles, Knox was the first Secretary of War for America and he and Lucy had a long and devoted marriage.
May 27, 2011
This is the second book in Barbara Hamilton's historical mystery series featuring Abigail Adams, and I hope there will be more.
A Marked Man is set in 1774 Boston, ten weeks after the Boston Tea Party. Tensions are high in Boston as the citizens wait for the winter weather to abate and a ship to arrive from England with the King's response to their rebellious actions. The soldiers garrisoning Boston have been moved to Castle Island for safety, as they are far outnumbered by the Bostonians.
Harry Knox, a young man, and member of the Sons of Liberty is arrested for murder and taken to Castle Island. There he will be kept in a cell until the weather clears enough to trasnport him to Halifax for trial before an Admiralty Court. The British will not hold the trial in open court in Boston as they know it will be impossible to get honest jurors.
Abigail finds herself drawn into all this when she is begged for help by Lucy Fluckner. Lucy was to be unwillingly betrothed to the man who now lies dead - Jonathan Cottrell, but she was also secretly having a relationship with Harry, whom she loves.
Abigail finds herself in a race against time to try and prove Harry's innocence before the weather clears and ships can sail again. The Sons of Liberty are equally concerned at freeing Harry, only by far more drastic measures. If Harry is found guilty and sentenced to hang he will be offered reprieve if he tells all he knows of the activities of the Sons of Liberty, endangering all their lives and plans.
Once again I really enjoyed the historical setting of this novel, Abigail Adams' intelligent, level-headed portrayal, her relationship with John, her domestic life, rubbing shoulders with men like Sam Adams and Paul Revere, and the balanced view of the political situation. Abigail often thinks of the Sons of Liberty as a rabble and a mob, there is no glamourising of the revolution here.
It wasn't until I finished the book and read the 'Author's Note' at the end that I realised that Harry Knox and Lucy Fluckner were also a real historical couple who went on to play major roles in the American Revolution. Fort Knox and Knoxville, TN are both named after Harry.
A really enjoyable read and I'm glad I don't live in Boston in winter!
A Marked Man is set in 1774 Boston, ten weeks after the Boston Tea Party. Tensions are high in Boston as the citizens wait for the winter weather to abate and a ship to arrive from England with the King's response to their rebellious actions. The soldiers garrisoning Boston have been moved to Castle Island for safety, as they are far outnumbered by the Bostonians.
Harry Knox, a young man, and member of the Sons of Liberty is arrested for murder and taken to Castle Island. There he will be kept in a cell until the weather clears enough to trasnport him to Halifax for trial before an Admiralty Court. The British will not hold the trial in open court in Boston as they know it will be impossible to get honest jurors.
Abigail finds herself drawn into all this when she is begged for help by Lucy Fluckner. Lucy was to be unwillingly betrothed to the man who now lies dead - Jonathan Cottrell, but she was also secretly having a relationship with Harry, whom she loves.
Abigail finds herself in a race against time to try and prove Harry's innocence before the weather clears and ships can sail again. The Sons of Liberty are equally concerned at freeing Harry, only by far more drastic measures. If Harry is found guilty and sentenced to hang he will be offered reprieve if he tells all he knows of the activities of the Sons of Liberty, endangering all their lives and plans.
Once again I really enjoyed the historical setting of this novel, Abigail Adams' intelligent, level-headed portrayal, her relationship with John, her domestic life, rubbing shoulders with men like Sam Adams and Paul Revere, and the balanced view of the political situation. Abigail often thinks of the Sons of Liberty as a rabble and a mob, there is no glamourising of the revolution here.
It wasn't until I finished the book and read the 'Author's Note' at the end that I realised that Harry Knox and Lucy Fluckner were also a real historical couple who went on to play major roles in the American Revolution. Fort Knox and Knoxville, TN are both named after Harry.
A really enjoyable read and I'm glad I don't live in Boston in winter!
January 8, 2021
A marked man Abagail Adams mystery 2 by Barbara Hamilton
p96-7It isn’t just about tea have a girl fart it isn’t just about taxes. It’s about the fact that men who are friends with the king can do this to men who are not friends of the king.
p129 Girls always paid a higher price for carelessness or your luck than boys. The boys have been “” let astray by “” evil companions was sold and reduced to such desperation is to seek the razor the news. Is he able companions would break him out of the light Glauber lock up and he show up dirty and beaming and his parents doorstep and even his disapproving sister would tell him to take it into her arms. For a girl, it wasn’t like that. Not only was she would she be cast out by her friends, but her sisters would find their chances of marriage have to or worse: if the girl was lose who’s to say the rest are honest. Period.? They would be forced to turn their back‘s on her insurance defense of their own fortunes. P141-2 about nobleman spoken by his servant: The way he treated me treated the chaps in the stables the boots in any in we stayed in it was all one you and me ma’am and your good husband I wager to hear you are doing a good tune for your fellow man without any fuss raised at home we look at other folks and we think will sheer he has his travels to and if I don’t like being treated like that chair you’re sitting on there probably to other chat doesn’t like it either. But I swear to you sir Jonathan Cottrell. Period. It was like he didn’t think about other people at all. Like they were is no more real to him and faces in a painting. Not just servants and beggars in the street but everyone. P319 Have you even thought about what sort of world you would create or can create if you teach your followers and yourselves that violence is the best answer to a political question? Can those learn this lesson do other than continue to perpetuate it by force rather than law?
p96-7It isn’t just about tea have a girl fart it isn’t just about taxes. It’s about the fact that men who are friends with the king can do this to men who are not friends of the king.
p129 Girls always paid a higher price for carelessness or your luck than boys. The boys have been “” let astray by “” evil companions was sold and reduced to such desperation is to seek the razor the news. Is he able companions would break him out of the light Glauber lock up and he show up dirty and beaming and his parents doorstep and even his disapproving sister would tell him to take it into her arms. For a girl, it wasn’t like that. Not only was she would she be cast out by her friends, but her sisters would find their chances of marriage have to or worse: if the girl was lose who’s to say the rest are honest. Period.? They would be forced to turn their back‘s on her insurance defense of their own fortunes. P141-2 about nobleman spoken by his servant: The way he treated me treated the chaps in the stables the boots in any in we stayed in it was all one you and me ma’am and your good husband I wager to hear you are doing a good tune for your fellow man without any fuss raised at home we look at other folks and we think will sheer he has his travels to and if I don’t like being treated like that chair you’re sitting on there probably to other chat doesn’t like it either. But I swear to you sir Jonathan Cottrell. Period. It was like he didn’t think about other people at all. Like they were is no more real to him and faces in a painting. Not just servants and beggars in the street but everyone. P319 Have you even thought about what sort of world you would create or can create if you teach your followers and yourselves that violence is the best answer to a political question? Can those learn this lesson do other than continue to perpetuate it by force rather than law?
November 12, 2011
This turned out to be a very good little mystery. I was more than a little skeptical that the author could successfully turn Abigail Adams into a pre-Revolutionary Miss Marple. First, I grew up in Quincy and Braintree where the Adams' lived. My aunt lived across the street from where Abigail grew up. You can't grow up there and NOT know a lot about them. But Hamilton does a fairly credible job of creating Abigail as she might have been in 1774. It was during the brief period the family lived in Boston, which gives Abigail much more access to what's going on in the town than if she were out in Braintree. The mystery involves the mysterious disappearance of a slave girl and the murder of a special commissioner of the king's. When one of the Sons of Liberty is arrested for the murder, Abigail begins her own investigation, which takes her out to Castle Island where the British troops are garrisoned and into the governor's mansion. The story is full of interesting tidbits of life in colonial America. There is also a lot of gray in the dispute between the would-be revolutionaries and the royalists. Not all the redcoats were bad, and Hamilton gives Abigail friends among them. The picture of John and Abigail as parents may be a bit too modern in some ways, as well as their banter, but it also serves to humanize them. And finally, this is not one of those mysteries where you can see the solution a mile away and can't figure out why no one else can see it. It is a very well-crafted book and I definitely plan to read others in the series.
July 23, 2011
I truly had a good time with Abigail Adams in the first book of this series, The Ninth Daughter. I was delighted to find that Abigail was at it again in A Marked Man. These books provide many little joys for the reader, especially for the American History buff. The setting is Colonial Boston, during that exciting and perilous time of the Stamp Act and the Tea Party. The background was so skillfully drawn that I felt my toes freezing in the Meeting House. (New England was enjoying The Little Ice Age.) Those who have read a little about her will know that Abigail Adams was a witty, intelligent and independent woman. She and her John were fortunate enough to be best friends as well as spouses. Their relationship, their love of their children, their strong political opinions and their loyalty to their friends is presented in a gently humorous fashion that charms as well as informs. I didn't have any difficulty in accepting Abigail as a sleuth. A woman with her restless intelligence would be a perfect detective. Needless to say, she resolves her puzzles and captures her perps, using her own wit and the help of a British Officer who believes in justice. I have been told there will be more books in this series and I can't wait to get back to Boston to see what she will be up to next. These books are an easy read, but don't fret, they're not shallow. They are like a rich dessert, full of goodies and special tidbits. You should try a bite.
September 17, 2012
"A Marked Man" is a historical mystery set in 1774 in Boston. This book is the second in a series. You don't need to read the previous novel to understand this one, and this novel didn't spoil the previous mystery.
Vivid historical details about the everyday life and politics were skillfully woven into the story. The characters were people of the time period (as in, their ideas and ideals were accurate to the time), and they accurately portrayed the time without being cliche personalities. The characters reacted realistically to the situations, and I always understood why they were acting the way they were. I found the characters very engaging and interesting.
The mystery was an interesting clue-based puzzle. It was nice that Abigail was supposed to be investigating the murder and that she had a mutually-respectful working relationship with the official investigator. Whodunit was guessable but not immediately obvious. I realized where the clues were pointing at about the same time Abigail did.
There was no sex (though rape was referred to in conversation). There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. Overall, I really enjoyed the characters (and the mystery and the history) of this novel and would highly recommend it.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
Vivid historical details about the everyday life and politics were skillfully woven into the story. The characters were people of the time period (as in, their ideas and ideals were accurate to the time), and they accurately portrayed the time without being cliche personalities. The characters reacted realistically to the situations, and I always understood why they were acting the way they were. I found the characters very engaging and interesting.
The mystery was an interesting clue-based puzzle. It was nice that Abigail was supposed to be investigating the murder and that she had a mutually-respectful working relationship with the official investigator. Whodunit was guessable but not immediately obvious. I realized where the clues were pointing at about the same time Abigail did.
There was no sex (though rape was referred to in conversation). There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. Overall, I really enjoyed the characters (and the mystery and the history) of this novel and would highly recommend it.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
June 7, 2011
I just adore these Abigail Adams mysteries! They're not just only mysteries they're also mini-history lessons. Granted the history is fictionalized, but the books really give you a feel for how life was pre-revolution - I definitely have a better understanding of how torn the colonists were politically. Many of them wanted to remain British, but they weren't being treated fairly. Not that it was anything new; that was simply how life was under royalty. Anytime people believe they are inherently better than those around them inequities inevitably result. "Inequities" is not the word I'm looking for...but I think you can get the idea.
Besides, John Adams was an amazing man - his wife had to have been at least as amazing. She's the one who encouraged and inspired him, who kept their home as a refuge for him and handled everything in his absences from home, which were often. For a woman married to the man who became our second President and raised the man who became our fifth president, solving a murder or two couldn't have been all that difficult.
Besides, John Adams was an amazing man - his wife had to have been at least as amazing. She's the one who encouraged and inspired him, who kept their home as a refuge for him and handled everything in his absences from home, which were often. For a woman married to the man who became our second President and raised the man who became our fifth president, solving a murder or two couldn't have been all that difficult.
December 9, 2011
In Abigail Adams' second outing as an investigator, she is seeking to clear the name of a loyalist bookseller accused of killing his sweetheart's Tory fiance (though the sweetheart denies the engagement). Abigail's husband John is defending the bookseller, while Abigail finds there are more and more suspects who have every motive to kill the dead man.
Once again Hamilton (a pseudonym for one of my favorite writers, Barbara Hambly), brings Boston at the time of the infamous Tea Party to life. Everyone is looking over her/his shoulder; everyone suspects everyone else, and the Adams family is in the thick of it. Abigail consults regularly with Sam Adams and Paul Revere, who respect her keen mind. She knows how to talk with the women of the city, be they loyalist or revolutionary, and she sees things from her householder's point of view that official investigators miss. It's wonderful to follow as she knits alliances among people to obtain justice for the dead and the living alike.
Once again Hamilton (a pseudonym for one of my favorite writers, Barbara Hambly), brings Boston at the time of the infamous Tea Party to life. Everyone is looking over her/his shoulder; everyone suspects everyone else, and the Adams family is in the thick of it. Abigail consults regularly with Sam Adams and Paul Revere, who respect her keen mind. She knows how to talk with the women of the city, be they loyalist or revolutionary, and she sees things from her householder's point of view that official investigators miss. It's wonderful to follow as she knits alliances among people to obtain justice for the dead and the living alike.
June 13, 2014
Do I believe Abigail Adams was a sleuth? No.
Is this still a fascinating mystery series? Oh, yes!
I love the historical context. It brings the Revolutionary War period to life like nothing else I've ever read- and I've read a number of novels set in that period.
Here, the plot is complex, with political overtones, though it did not seem to be politically motivated. I did find the end-game a bit implausible... but everything else was so grounded that I didn't mind.
America, in that era, was a VERY different place than we realize, and this series brings home a lot of that. The basic pragmatics of life are so foreign to our experiences!
I'm a great fan of historical cookbooks, because they give me a look into how people actually lived in earlier ages. This series is similar, plus the whole mystery element is enticing.
Highly recommended, and if you haven't read the first, you can start here.
Is this still a fascinating mystery series? Oh, yes!
I love the historical context. It brings the Revolutionary War period to life like nothing else I've ever read- and I've read a number of novels set in that period.
Here, the plot is complex, with political overtones, though it did not seem to be politically motivated. I did find the end-game a bit implausible... but everything else was so grounded that I didn't mind.
America, in that era, was a VERY different place than we realize, and this series brings home a lot of that. The basic pragmatics of life are so foreign to our experiences!
I'm a great fan of historical cookbooks, because they give me a look into how people actually lived in earlier ages. This series is similar, plus the whole mystery element is enticing.
Highly recommended, and if you haven't read the first, you can start here.
September 26, 2013
I love this series (I know--it's only the 2nd book). I love the author's detailed research, I love the time period, and I love Abigail Adams. (Okay, so I'm not so in love with John Adams, but that's a petty detail.)
This is an excellent follow up to the debut mystery featuring Abigail Adams as the amateur sleuth. The mystery itself is fairly straightforward, but what makes this book such a lovely read is the incorporation of historical detail and a glimpse into the lives of the Adams family. Abigail is as wonderful as I imagine her--intelligent, warm, accessible and very human.
The backdrop of the impending Revolutionary War makes the story all the more compelling. And the author makes both sides--the revolutionaries and the British soldiers--personable and three dimensional and real. I look forward to what I hope is a lengthy multiple book series!
This is an excellent follow up to the debut mystery featuring Abigail Adams as the amateur sleuth. The mystery itself is fairly straightforward, but what makes this book such a lovely read is the incorporation of historical detail and a glimpse into the lives of the Adams family. Abigail is as wonderful as I imagine her--intelligent, warm, accessible and very human.
The backdrop of the impending Revolutionary War makes the story all the more compelling. And the author makes both sides--the revolutionaries and the British soldiers--personable and three dimensional and real. I look forward to what I hope is a lengthy multiple book series!
August 20, 2012
As an indifferent scholar of Revolutionary war history, I enjoyed this book, but kept feeling like I had to look up the little details -- when was New Hampshire separated from Maine? Who was Harry Knox? Where did the Adams family live when they were in Boston?
I was at least 60% of the way through the book before I figured out where it was going, so kudos to Ms. Hamilton, because that's rare. I enjoyed that. The clue were well placed and didn't ruin the story. As a resident of the Boston area I kept wanting a map. For example, where on earth is Ship St? Maybe it doesn't exist anymore since there have been huge fill-ins since 1774? It describes a very different Boston than mine, and once I relaxed I enjoyed the book more.
I was at least 60% of the way through the book before I figured out where it was going, so kudos to Ms. Hamilton, because that's rare. I enjoyed that. The clue were well placed and didn't ruin the story. As a resident of the Boston area I kept wanting a map. For example, where on earth is Ship St? Maybe it doesn't exist anymore since there have been huge fill-ins since 1774? It describes a very different Boston than mine, and once I relaxed I enjoyed the book more.
January 31, 2017
Fun series.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
January 29, 2011
Mystery lovers, historical fiction lovers, and admirers of anything Barbara Hambly writes, rejoice! The resourceful and indomitable Abigail Adams is at it again, tracking down the solution to yet another murderous mystery. In an uneasy partnership with British Provost Marshall, she treads the delicate line between a search for the truth and the need to protect the Sons of Liberty from increasing British persecution. This tale involves not only murder and espionage but long-simmered revenge, mistaken identities, forensic pathology, star-crossed lovers, a land grab and a secretive tenant, all while Abigail keeps up a lively household when woman's work ran dawn to dusk.
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