Thursday, June 17, 2021

Sins of a Shaker Summer by Deborah Woodworth

 

First Line: "I'm thirsty," seven-year-old Betsy grumbled, plunking her cracked white teacup on the ground.
 
Sister Rose Callahan is slowly acclimating to being the new eldress of her community of Believers in Kentucky, even though Brother Wilhelm, the elder of the community, would like nothing better than to see her thrown out on her ear.
 
However politics and emotions should take a backseat when two little girls are poisoned. All signs point to the medicinal herb shop and the group of Believers recently arrived from another community who work there. Something isn't right, and Sister Rose is determined to find out what it is in order to keep the community she loves safe.
 
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Deborah Woodworth's historical series featuring Sister Rose Callahan is one that I've enjoyed from the first book, Death of a Winter Shaker. One of my cherished memories is of visiting Pleasant Hill, a Shaker community in Kentucky when I was sixteen. I found the history of the Shakers and their accomplishments fascinating, and I still do. The second Sister Rose Callahan starts walking the streets and paths of her community, I am immediately transported to Pleasant Hill.
 
Woodworth's research is impeccable, and she weaves it all seamlessly into her story. There's no feeling that you've been thrown into history class and are about to face a pop quiz. 
 
The mystery in Sins of a Shaker Summer is a good one. Readers are quickly drawn to the new group of Believers who arrived from another community. They're secretive, don't talk much, and they seem to be conducting strange experiments in the medicinal herb shop, which is one of the many ways the Believers earn money. But what exactly is going on, and which one of the newcomers is responsible? This takes some work to figure out.
 
But no matter how strong the mystery is or how wonderful the sense of place and time is, the story isn't going to shine unless the characters do. The characters shine in this book. Sister Rose is a conscientious, compassionate woman who wants everything in her community to run well and for everyone to be healthy and happy. She also is a first-rate investigator. Brother Wilhelm, the other person in charge is a rabid fundamentalist. He wants everything like it was in the Good Old Days, and he believes Rose is too modern and should be thrown out of the community. Wilhelm wants to ignore the outside world even though the Shakers must rely on non-Believers to buy their goods and for converts to their faith.

There are also other dynamics among the characters. Newcomer Sister Patience is causing concern and divisiveness with her visions and pronouncements, and it's up to Sister Rose to find out if the woman is a true visionary or a fraud. And... looming over the entire community is the outside world. Everyone is suffering through the Depression, and when any little thing goes wrong, there must be someone to blame. For those living outside the Shaker community, the best scapegoats are always the Believers. They're weird. They believe in celibacy. Their religious services sometimes look like a circus sideshow. Yes, the Believers are very easy to blame for anything that goes wrong, and it's this attitude that brings a very real sense of menace to Sins of a Shaker Summer and the other books in the series.

If you're in the mood for a historical mystery that will transport you to another time and place, one with a strong mystery and even stronger characters, I recommend Deborah Woodworth's Sister Rose Callahan series. It's been one of my "go-to" series from the very first book.

Sins of a Shaker Summer by Deborah Woodworth
ISBN: 0739401394
Avon Books © 1999
Hardcover, 261 pages
 
Historical Mystery, #3 Sister Rose Callahan mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Paperback Swap 

13 comments:

  1. What's interesting about this, Cathy, is the insight it offers into the Shaker community. It reminds me a bit of Eleanor Kuhn's Will Rees mysteries (his wife is a former Shaker). And it sounds as though the research is really done well. To me, that makes a big difference.

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    1. Yes, it reminds me a bit of Kuhn's series, too.

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  2. Another new author for me. And another community and its inhabitants to get to know!

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  3. This sounds like an interesting read. The Shakers fascinated me years ago when I first read about them.

    The main characters sounds like a compelling protagonist.

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  4. I remember these books from quite a long time ago. I'm trying to think if I actually read the first or not. I know I've been aware of them. There was a Quaker series back then too, but I can't remember the author's name. Ah, found it - Irene Allen. I know I read those. I might check and see if my library has these. Sound so interesting.

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    1. I've got the first book in Allen's series sitting on my TBR shelves. One of these days I'll get around to reading it. I know... famous last words and all that!

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  5. How interesting! I don't think I've ever read a book set in a Shaker community.

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    1. This is the only mystery series I know of that is. I do remember reading Janice Holt Giles' The Believers which is set in a Shaker community, too.

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  6. This series has been on my radar, Cathy! I am glad to see a review. The Shaker community has always fascinated me as well. An author whose mysteries I have enjoyed has a series about the Pleasant Hill Shaker community in the early 1800's. This series is not a mystery series. The author is Ann H. Gabhart. I look forward to checking out the Sister Rose Callahan series.

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation, Gretchen. I looked up her books and they're on my radar, but I'm worried that there might be too much romance in them for my tastes.

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    2. That is the exact reason I have not yet read them 🙂.

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