Menu
When a living history museum turns deadly, an armchair historian must transform herself into a woman of action. It’s the week before Thanksgiving, and history book author, Miranda Lewis, has deadlines to meet. But when a check-in call to her eighteen-year-old niece, Caroline, ends in tears and a hang up, Miranda rushes to Plimoth Plantation, where Caroline works as an interpreter, portraying a Pilgrim woman.
$16.99
At the recreated seventeenth-century Pilgrim village in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Miranda encounters protesting Indians, quarrelsome Pilgrims, and finally a grisly murder. Overheard arguing with the victim the night before, Caroline is a suspect in the killing. Determined to clear Caroline’s name, Miranda delves into the present-day lives of the interpreters, including the victim himself. Her quest for the truth also leads her to explore the history of the often troubled relations between the white settlers and the Native peoples. In the end, she finds herself face-to-face with a killer who will stop at nothing to conceal his crime.
Rating
“He had to die'”…. That is the very first sentence in Murder at Plimoth Plantation by Leslie Wheeler. That first sentence grabs the reader….how can you not want to continue reading the story to see who had to die and why. What lead to that sentence even being written ?? I, for one, had to read the story because I obviously had to know the answer and I am sure that I am not the only one that would read that sentence and have to continue. And boy does that first sentence take the reader down a road that will surprise and amaze them. Miranda Lewis is the main character in Murder at Plimoth Plantation and after calling her niece, Caroline to check on her, she catches her in a disturbing mood but won’t tell Miranda why. After sobbing and hanging up on her, Miranda has no other choice but to go to her and see for herself what is going on. Caroline works as an interpreter and recreator of someone living on a planation during the seventeenth century. When Miranda shows up to talk to Caroline, Caroline says that she will talk to her during her break but disappears before that can happen. Miranda is on high alert now and just wants to talk to Caroline to see what is going on. Unfortunately before Miranda can get the full story from Caroline a co-worker of Caroline’s is murdered and things point to Caroline as a suspect. Miranda will do whatever it takes to find out the full story and prove her niece’s innocence…..and will go down some dark roads and dwell into the past to get the answers she needs !!! Wheeler will take the reader on a very captivating and mind blowing journey. It will amaze the reader as you get lost in the tale and will be thoroughly shocked to find out the story behind it all and you will be very shocked at how Miranda does it and with who !!!
Having visited Plymouth (and Plimoth Plantation Museum), I could tell the author was familiar with the settings and local flavor of the area, which added to the fun in reading it. An historian as amateur sleuth was an excellent choice for the book. The characters were colorful. I admit, I’m one of those who is fascinated by the historical interpreters who portray the Plimoth colonists. Are they primarily actors, or historians? Equal parts of both? This book gives an imaginary entry into their lives, and I’ve often wondered what the historical interpreters themselves think of Ms. Wheeler’s portrayal of them (certainly a few of them have read the book). There are enough red herrings in here to make for a good-paced classic cozy mystery. I read the paperback edition, and was glad to see the digital edition now available. I have not read any others from this series, but this book was entertaining enough to make me interested in doing so. I gave away the paperback to a friend when I was done, and now I’m sorry I did. I rarely read a mystery twice, but I’d make an exception for this one. So I hope my friend enjoyed the book, and passed it along to someone else.
This is a very good mystery that includes a lot of historical information about Plimoth Plantation and the Pilgrims as well as the Indians who interacted with them. Each chapter is headed by a quote from either Mourt’s Relation or Good Newes From New England which are real accounts of Pilgrim life written in the 1600’s. The characters in the book are each very different and some are quite eccentric. In this installment of Leslie Wheeler’s Miranda Lewis Mystery series, Miranda has a frantic communication from her niece who is an interpreter of living history at Plimoth Plantation, so Miranda goes right away to find a very disturbed niece, Caroline. The interpreters speak and dress in the manner of the day. The person who plays the part of Miles Standish is murdered in a very gruesome way and Miranda sets out to find out who killed him and why. This is a very enjoyable book and especially if you like history it has a lot of factual information in it. I found it to be a page-turner and highly recommend it to mystery lovers and historical mystery readers.
I chose to read this book because I have Pilgrim ancestors, and I was curious as to how accurately Plimoth and the Pilgrims would be portrayed in this modern mystery. I found the historical information to be very authentic, and I was drawn into the story, and very much enjoyed the book.
If you like historical novels and also enjoy a good murder mystery, then this is a must read! You will be transcended back in time to the days of the pilgrims with lives complicated by far more modern problems. This interesting blend coupled with the author’s wonderfully descriptive writing style makes the book come to life. The ending was a real surprise. Suggest that you reread the first chapter at the end to see just how intricately this tale was spun!
