In Fall 1804, a shipwreck shatters the plans of newlyweds Georgina and Jeffrey Chadwick and deposits them on the shores of Cape Breton with a dead body.Georgina and Jeffrey Chadwick, head to Boston to start a new life. But travel in 1804 is perilous and the ship on which the Chadwicks are travelling is veered off course in a fierce storm that deposits them on Cape Breton. Among the flotsam left on the beach by the storm, are several dead bodies, one full of knife wounds.
Chadwick had not envisioned spending his first winter with his bride sharing a one room cabin with a box bed, an open fireplace and an outdoor privy. Nor had he imagined himself leading an investigation into a murder. As a former military officer once tasked with spying on Napoleon, he has some investigative skills. But are they enough to find the murderer before he strikes again?
Cape Breton in the fall of 1804, is a colonial frontier lashed by brutal winters. Before Dublin society turned on her, Georgina’s skills included how to dress fashionably and supervise a political dinner for twenty of her father’s cronies, neither of which can help her now. Can she learn enough basic survival skills to help her husband survive the winter, when all she really wants to do is help with the investigation?
Georgina and Jeffrey’s plans have taken a hard left into chaos. Instead of the city they expected, they are in the wilderness of Nova Scotia, instead of preparing for the winter, they are charged with a murder investigation and then there are the orphans. Surely the winter can’t be that long!
An interesting story that takes place in a beautiful and historical part of Canada
Solving a mystery takes a methodical course, whether it is today or 200 years ago. And this mystery takes place in the cold of late autumn with a group of people that survived a ship wreck. Food and supplies are limited and winter is coming. This is a murder mystery with three dead victims. It is especially troubling because two are women. If the same killer ie responsible for all three, this murderer is a serial killer. I did not like the outcome of this novel. One women is known to have killed another woman and is not tried, but is banished by the presiding governor to another province. Did she has successfully murdered three people? If so, will she stop? Or did they banish her and she will kill again? Yes she suffered abuse, but does that justify letting her go?
Fascinating history ,delightful characters, and engrossing mystery!
I read the third book in this series first so absolutely needed to discover how this delightful cast of characters ended up in the colonies solving murder mysteries. The love story that is at the heart of the series is sweet and Georgiana and Jeffrey are intelligent ,courageous characters, and the author gives enough clues that the solution to the mystery is satisfying. Still needs some editing for typos but she tells great stories!
I liked the plot and the characters of this murder mystery set in early 1800’s Cape Breton. I thought it was pretty obvious who the culprit(s) was(were). What was distracting were all the typographical errors…and/or sentence structure problems. I’d recommend a good editor…
Admirable protagonist. Balanced mix of good n bad events. Interesting plot twists. However, next Enemies book doesn't seem to follow the characters to Boston or maybe New York? DISAPPOINTING not to know what happens next to Paddy, who gets the children, does George learn to cook? ? ?
Story held my interest and engaged. The characters certainly had twists and turns to ponder as they attempt to solve the case. Would like to see continuation of this story.
This was a surprise. It would have been better if this has been mentioned that it was part of a series though; it would have been nice to read the first book prior to this. A good mystery, good characters - all on all not a bad cozy summer read.