A Revolutionary Read
The Turncoat’s Widow by Mally Becker
They say one should never judge a book by its cover, but we all do it. Or at least most of us do. And who is “they,” anyhow?
But I’m no different—this gorgeous cover is the first thing that attracted me to The Turncoat’s Widow, a beautifully written Revolutionary War mystery.
The widow is Rebecca Parcell. The turncoat is her husband Phillip, an officer in the continental army who died aboard a British prison ship. The rumormongers in town are saying Rebecca gave him up to the British army to escape her unhappy marriage, but the fact is, Phillip was spying for the British. And some very important people, including George Washington, knew it. What those people don’t know, however, are the other spies who were working with Phillip.
Rebecca, now a widow, is desperate to save her farm. She has nowhere else to go. The deal George Washington offers her is tempting, but fraught with danger: he promises to save her farm if she can provide him with the list of the other British spies.
With the help of Daniel Alloway, the last person to see Phillip alive and himself an enigmatic escapee of the same British prison ship, Rebecca faces an uphill struggle to unearth the secrets her husband left behind.
As I mentioned above, this book is beautifully written. The prose is easy to read, captivating, and especially interesting if you’re into American history. The pages practically turn themselves. The story has everything I enjoy—espionage, twists and turns, a strong and compelling female protagonist, and a little spark of romance.
The settings are vividly drawn, from towns and villages in wartime New Jersey to the seedy neighborhoods of New York City, and from the farm Rebecca longs to keep to the glittering salons of city socialites.
The characters come from both American history and the author’s imagination. They mingle seamlessly in the pages of the book, and I was fascinated to learn more about the activities of the patriots and loyalists in New York City at the time of the American Revolution. The backstories of the main characters, Rebecca and Daniel, contain subtle complexities which make these flawed characters come alive.
As an author of historical mysteries, I could tell as I read the book how much research went into the writing of it. The author knows her stuff: the clothing and language usage of the time, the architecture and the physical layout of the places where battles were waged and spies were forged, and a deep understanding of the intricate politics in New York and New Jersey during the Revolutionary War.
I’m eager to read books 2 and 3 in Becker’s Revolutionary War Mystery Series. In the meantime, I would recommend The Turncoat’s Widow to anyone who loves a good historical mystery and a tale rich with characters and events from American history.
***
And speaking of American history, my new book, The Night the Light Went Out, is available for preorder! Here’s the info about the book, which will be released on August 6th and is the 3rd in my Cape May Historical Mystery Collection:
September, 1821.
Nine souls are trapped inside the Cape May Lighthouse as a treacherous storm ravages the New Jersey coast with punishing winds and rising waters … but the tempest escalating among those cut off from civilization may be even more lethal.
Deputy Sheriff George Moore, a newcomer to Cape May, knows nothing of the dark histories of the eight other people confined with him. When the first victim falls, everyone is left reeling. But was the death natural or was it a cold-blooded murder?
As the relentless march of death claims more victims, George must unravel the malevolent secrets swirling around him before it’s too late.
Step into the storm of the century as the ill-fated men and women in the lighthouse face the threatening sea, stifling darkness, and the sinister evil destroying them one by one.
Here are the links to preorder the ebook (the paperback will be available on 8/6/24):
***
See you next time,
Amy
