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Library | Material Type | Item Barcode | Shelf Number | Status |
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Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Adult Mystery Fiction Book Hardback | 120791002752274 | M FER | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
For fans of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series, a fabulous historical mystery series set in early America.
"Deeply imagined and intricately plotted, A Stranger Here Below marries richly textured historical fiction with the urgency of a mystery novel. Fergus knows certain things, deep in the bone: horses, hunting, the folkways of rural places, and he weaves this wisdom into a stirring tale." - Geraldine Brooks, author of March and People of the Book
Set in 1835 in the Pennsylvania town of Adamant, Fergus's first novel in a new mystery series introduces Sheriff Gideon Stoltz, who, as a young deputy, is thrust into his position by the death of the previous sheriff. Gideon faces his first real challenge as death rocks the small town again when the respected judge Hiram Biddle commits suicide. No one is more distraught than Gideon, whom the old judge had befriended as a mentor and hunting partner. Gideon is regarded with suspicion as an outsider: he's new to town, and Pennsylvania Dutch in the back-country Scotch-Irish settlement. And he found the judge's body.
Making things even tougher is the way the judge's death stirs up vivid memories of Gideon's mother's murder, the trauma that drove him west from his home in the settled Dutch country of eastern Pennsylvania. He had also discovered her body.
At first Gideon simply wants to learn why Judge Biddle killed himself. But as he finds out more about the judge's past, he realizes that his friend's suicide was spurred by much more than the man's despair. Gideon's quest soon becomes more complex as it takes him down a dangerous path into the past.
A Stranger Here Below is so atmospheric, so compelling and convincing, that readers will taste the grit of the dirt roads, cringe at the unsanitary conditions and medical superstitions that inflame a flu epidemic, and marvel at the immensely arduous task of carrying out an investigation using the primitive tools of the early 1800s. Fergus leaves us breathlessly waiting for the next Gideon Stoltz mystery.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in 1835, this underwhelming series launch from Fergus (Shadow Catcher) introduces 22-year-old Gideon Stolz, the sheriff of Pennsylvania's Colerain County, who faces his greatest professional challenge in the case of a friend, Judge Hiram Biddle. After Hiram fails to show up for a planned hunt, Gideon finds him dead in his study, sitting in a chair facing a recently fired shotgun. There's no note near the corpse, but Gideon accepts the obvious verdict of suicide and devotes himself to understanding why the judge killed himself. He comes to believe that the truth may be connected with an old crime. In 1805, the Rev. Thomas McEwan confessed to the bludgeoning murder of Nat Thompson, with whom he got into a fight, and Biddle was the judge who sentenced the clergyman to hang. Gideon is dumbfounded to learn that his friend was engaged to the executed convict's daughter. Lengthy excerpts from the judge's diary slow the action, and Fergus's depictions of the period are merely serviceable. Few will look forward to Stolz's further adventures. Agent: Natalia Aponte, Aponte Literary. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Fergus introduces Gideon Stoltz, a young deputy in 1835 Pennsylvania. Gideon's sheriffing skills are put to the test when his friend, the retired judge Hiram Biddle, dies from an apparent suicide. A member of a Pennsylvania Dutch community, Gideon is still seen as an outsider by the Scotch-Irish settlers in the small town of Adamant, though the good will people feel toward his wife, True, opens some doors. Talking to longtime residents and going through the judge's journals, Gideon discovers that there is one case that forever altered the course of Biddle's life. Could a recent murder have triggered something for the judge? A writer of nonfiction about the natural world, Fergus brings his appreciation for nature to this well-paced blend of mystery and western. Gideon is a classic lawman, tough when he has to be but able to weep when an influenza epidemic rips through town, leaving empty cradles in its wake. An appealing debut that deserves a boost from enthusiastic hand-sellers.--Karen Keefe Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
DEBUT At 22, Gideon Stoltz is a little young to be sheriff of Colerain County, PA, in 1835. Because he's Pennsylvania Dutch, he's viewed as a foreigner, although he married a local woman. His only friend, and mentor, is Judge Hiram Biddle. So when Biddle is found dead from an apparent suicide, Gideon's lost and confused. Reading the judge's journals, Gideon wonders if his friend had been brooding about a hanging that occurred 30 years earlier. Mocked and jeered at, even by his in-laws, Gideon begins to ask questions about the local history. Despite warnings from his wife and the most powerful men in town, he stubbornly investigates. Then another murder occurs and two disreputable strangers convince the sheriff that the truth may lie in the past. -VERDICT With an atmospheric setting and strong sense of place, this leisurely paced historical mystery introduces a religious, reflective protagonist with a strong sense of duty and will be appreciated by readers who enjoy stories about the early development of the United States. The rich details of the experience and treatment of outsiders recalls Eleanor Kuhns's "Will Rees" stories.-Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.