St. Clements Bluff: Heart of St. Mary's County, Book 1

by Christine Trent

Raleigh Bishop’s perfect life in rural St. Mary’s County, Maryland, has just come to a shattering end. Her naval test pilot husband, Grant, has been killed in a flight accident, and Raleigh is left to pick up the brittle shards of that life. She prefers to stay hidden away in her grief but is unwillingly dragged out of it by the contents of her husband’s will, which contain a shocking bequest.

Grant has left her St. Clements Bluff, an old Bishop family home with a noble background as a stop on the Underground Railroad. But serving as a safe house for escaping slaves in the 19th century is just the beginning of what Raleigh learns is a dark and winding history.

It is a history that someone is willing to keep secret at any cost.


Christine Trent has lived in Southern Maryland for over 30 years and loves the place she calls home—from its beautiful shorelines to its perfect cuisine and unrivaled history. Learn more at www.ChristineTrent.com.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

326 pages, Paperback

Published July 13, 2023

About the author

Christine Trent is the author of the Heart of St. Mary's County series set in her beloved Maryland hometown. Book 3, THE CEDAR POINT AFFAIR, releases in July 2025 and Book 4, THE MADNESS OF MOLL DYER, will release in February 2026.

She is also the author of the ROYAL TRADES series about women in unusual professions, including THE QUEEN'S DOLLMAKER (a dollmaker to Marie Antoinette), A ROYAL LIKENESS (an apprentice to the great waxworker, Madame Tussaud), and BY THE KING'S DESIGN (a cloth merchant to the Prince Regent). These books were re-released in 2023.

Christine is best known for her LADY OF ASHES series featuring Violet Harper, a Victorian undertaker with a passion for her macabre work. Christine's latest entry in this historical mystery series is THE DEADLY HOURS, an anthology written with Susanna Kearsley, C.S. Harris, and Anna Lee Huber, which follows the travels of a cursed pocket watch through time.

Can't get enough historical mystery? Christine has also written two novels (NO CURE FOR THE DEAD and A MURDEROUS MALADY) featuring Florence Nightingale as an intrepid sleuth.

Learn more about Christine at www.christinetrent.com.

Reviews

[PaQuita · Rating 3 out of 5]

St. Clement's Bluff wasn't half bad! It took me a minute to get over the hump but once I got there the storyline took off. This is not my typical read, I stumbled upon this book because Christine Trent is a local author. So the referenced settings were familiar.
Overall it was a good book.

[Cobygirl517 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook. A few thoughts:

1) I LOATHE Salem. LOATHE.

2) I never want to hear the word "siss-o" again. Ever. Under any circumstances.

3) As a resident of St. Mary's County, it was neat hearing the history and local places sprinkled in. I was especially excited the author included Social Coffeehouse, and a rather accurate description of the ambience. I love that place.

4) Abell is pronounced "able", not "a-BELL". I know a few Abells. None of them pronounce it that way.

5) I love the dogs.

6) I hate pretty much everyone else. Especially Salem. In case I didn't mention that already. Raleigh is okay.

[Kaycie Tanwongprasert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this at my local library and was interested since it takes place in Maryland (where I grew up) and the author is a Maryland native.
Overall, the book is an easy read. Love how she tied in local spots and history into the plot. Some of it was cringe which is why I rated 4 stars. Honestly, I think the book was good on its own and doesn’t need to become a series so curious what the next book will be about.

[Patti Procopi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out really well. Good characters. Sad story for the main character who has lost her husband in a terrible accident. The writing is good though a bit wordy for my taste - but that's just me - I kept wanting to say - get on with it! The mystery surrounds an old house that the husband left to the MC which she knew nothing about. I found it a bit odd being a historian that she can't find out more information on the house and it's possible connection to being part of the Underground Railroad. Someone wants her to leave the house, sell the house, get out of the house. The ending just seemed so over the top and improbable. Once again I think I like my mysteries more along the lines of Col Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick.

[Zahavah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely slow burn of a historical fiction mystery I only liked as well as I did because of how ultra saturated the book is with local St. Mary's County landmarks, towns, and geography. It was soooooo slow and I didn't particularly connect with anyone other than I absolutely hated the FMC's sister.

[Charron Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to read about so many local landmarks and to learn some history of the area where I live!

[Rebecca Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay mostly. Narrator was no bueno - pronounced towns wrong. I read this bc it’s a local author. It did not grip my attention, but I powered through. I liked the dog.

[Cathie McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It kept me hooked throughout the entire book. I never saw the bad guy coming.

[Patti Abernathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it until I got to the resolution. Just a little off to me.

[Vickip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book. Fun to recognize landmarks in book.

[Taylor Hensley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually a 3.5 stars for me. I picked this one up because it is from a local author and the story is based in St. Mary's County, where I am from. It was fun to be able to recognize certain places and sites throughout the book. Overall, this was a fun and quick read. Which was refreshing since I was in a reading rut prior. I think the author did a great job making you guess which character is the one behind the mystery. I think she did well showing the amount of research she was doing for this book, which made me learn new things about where I live. And I think she made it simple enough to continue following along and not get confused. The reason I didn't feel like I could rate this book higher was because when there was suppose to be romance, it just felt like a reach and got boring. There were a good number of inconsistencies throughout the book, like at one point two characters rode together but the end of the chapter they had driven separately? Not a big deal but it happened enough to just be odd because in thrillers, details matter. And finally I thought the ending was unsatisfying. The author did great to answer all the questions at the end but how we got there seemed like a reach. Like we figure out who was behind it all but because he showed up confessing everything? then the main character escapes by jumping out a window of the burning house while leaving her new love interest bleeding on the floor? But then he miraculously gets up, walks out, and saves the main character by caring her to an ambulance? and then we skip ahead revealing that the bad guy just let himself burn in the fire, and then his girlfriend confesses in a letter that she feels bad that she was involved the whole time but now 7 years later she is dying and wants to confess her sins? Like just seemed rushed. But over all I enjoyed the book and will probably give the next book in the series a try.

[Peter Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Thrilling Read and Setting

St. Clement’s Bluff by Christine Trent is about a property of that name inherited by the protagonists. As she long grieves the death of her young Navy flyer husband, Raleigh Bishop finally accessed her inheritance paperwork. She discovers a home and property unknown to her that her husband was actively working on at the time of his unexpected death.
In addition to evidence that the location was part of the Underground Railroad that helped enslaved humans escape from their captivity, the plot slowly unveils evidence suggesting modern nefarious activity within the property.
Using the location of St. Mary’s County Maryland (a gem of a place in which this reviewer lives) the characters and plot unfold in a lovely way. The reader gets a look at local history and some of the wonderful establishments available to people who live and visit the area. The realities are wrapped together beautifully with a work of fiction that is part thriller, part mystery and part romance. The story with its unveiling clued kept me reading this wonderful work.
Whether you know St. Mary’s county or not, this satisfying novel is a delight on many levels.

[Katy Dailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

St Clements Bluff is a good read whether you live in St. Mary’s county Maryland or not. The references to local landmarks and the very SOMD family names was fun for a resident, but the overall story is accessible no matter where you live. Especially if you like a mystery mixed with a touch of romance. Christine Trent nicely balanced her characters so I never knew which of the many suspects had actually done it until the big reveal. I will certainly check out the next book in the series when it comes out.

[Suezq · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK story with a couple of minor plot holes and apparent timeline discrepancies. Although I typically enjoy references to places where I live or that are familiar to me this turned into a case of shameless name-dropping as the author referenced every bar, restaurant and prominent family in the county. And for those of you who are not familiar with the county I can tell you that there's no way that Salem would have ever been in Toot's.

[Alice Keefe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book for me especially since I am familiar with St. Mary's County.

[Dannadoo · Rating 1 out of 5]

A light read. Entertaining enough with inclussion of Maryland historical references.