Review: Death in the Great Dismal

Death in the Great Dismal by Eleanor Kuhns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to Booklist for the ARC and the opportunity to review this title!

January 1, 15 issue:
William and Lydia Reese are asked to accompany a friend on a rescue mission into the pro-slavery state of Virginia. Upon arrival in the Great Dismal Swamp, one of the residents is murdered, and William is tasked with finding who committed the heinous act. Then a second body is found. Tensions are high, and trust is running low. Kuhns' ninth entry in the Will Rees series provides a fictional account of a little-known, real-life event from the early 1800s. At the time, The Great Dismal Swamp was a haven for runaway slaves, the dense and tangled landscape offering a protective area. Kuhns' vivid portrayal of the community that developed inside the swamp captures a group of naturally cunning and vigilant people who provided a family for one another when most had none. The mystery itself is drawn out and a bit dry, but the story shines for its historical backbone and atmospheric details. Those factors make it perfect for readers of Margaret Lawrence's Hannah Trevor novels and Eliot Pattison's Bone Rattler series.

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