This is a very well written novel that takes the reader to a time of witchcraft accusations. Will Rees, his very pregnant wife Lydia, and their 6 children that they adopted were fleeing from a home In Dugard due to Lydia being accused of using witchcraft. They settle in the Shaker community called Zion. After being there only a short time they begin to hear screams in the night and wake to a dead body that was found in the washing tub. The community came together and along with the elders decided it was an accident. However Rees believes that it was murder. Why else would there be screams? Rees begins to have nightmares about his family and being able to save them. Then there is a missing young girl and the death of a mentally challenged young man also. Rees feels he must find out who is committing these crimes and can he do so before his family is hurt? Everything about this book is engrossing and fast paced. The authors research is impeccable and given to the reader in ways that makes you want more yet not too much to bee overwhelming. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/ publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Eleanaor Kuhns writes an intriguing historical mystery in the Shaker Murders. Who in the Shaker community where Rees and his family are sheltering is murdering fellow members ? Rees is uncertain where to take his family as his wife is under threat of being accursed as a witch in their home community and no one is the Shaker village wants to acknowledge murder. What to do? Read on.

Shaker Murders, The
by Eleanor Kuhns

Severn House

Severn House Publishers

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 01 Feb 2019



I am reviewing a copy of Thw Shaker Murders through Severn House and Netgalley:




Will Rees is a traveling weaver who is coming fresh from allegations of witchcraft and murder. He is traveling with his very pregnant wife and six adopted children when they take refuge in a Shaker community in rural Maine called Zion. Only a short time after Rees and his family arrive in Zion screams in the night lead to a drowned victim. Was this murder or an unfortunate accident? The elders vote on accident but Rees believes it was murder.




As Will investigates further there are more victims a young girl vanishes from the community. Rees is haunted by nightmares regarding his families safety. He must rush to uncover the truth before the nightmares for his families safety would become very real and there become more victims.


Can the Shaker elders be trusted? Or is it an outsider whose involved?


I give The Shaker Murders five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Murders in Zion

Will Rees, his pregnant wife, Lydia and their adopted children have fled to Zion, the home of the religious group, the Shakers from their farm in Dugard, after Lydia was accused of being a witch. They have no sooner arrived when the man Will is sharing a room with, Brother Jabez is found murdered, face down in the in the laundry tub. The elders want to believe that he fell in by accident, but Will discovers the weapon, a poker, hidden in some bushes.

The elders are reluctant to allow Will Rees to investigate and even more reluctant to call in the constable from the nearby town, Simon Rouge. Rees insists that the death is treated as a murder and that the constable is told.

A mentally challenged young man, Calvin is found murdered and Rees together with the help of the constable must find out why this second murder has taken place and how it ties in with the first murder.

I found the setting for this book, in the settlement of the Shakers, or to give them their official name, the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Coming, very interesting as I had no prior knowledge of this sect. However, the characters were one dimensional and as a result, I was unable to feel any empathy for them.

Bluebell

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

A fascinating and well written historical mystery.
I loved the well researched historical setting, it was a good way to learn more about the Shaker, and the characters.
The mystery was engaging and kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to reading other book by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC

It's the 1790s and Will and Lydia can't find a peaceful place to settle. She's been accused of witchcraft and he of murder. They decide to try Zion, a Shaker community where Lydia's family owns a farm. One would think the Shakers would be a quiet calm group but not this one. There are murders, there's dissent, there's a pretty good mystery as to what's going on. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is well done historical fiction and you'll learn something about the Shakers.

The Shaker Community was difficult to understand. Rees is separated from his wife and children as a part of this society. Murders take place and the elders want to rule them as accidents so as not to involve the police. I was not too vested in Rees and his family probably because this is the first in this series that I have read. Because of this the story was slow and difficult to stay interested in. "A copy of this book was provided by Severn House via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

For a peace-loving sect, the Shakers in Eleanor Kuhns' sixth Will Rees mystery are filling up the community graveyard.

Rees usually finds solace in weaving, but he straggles into the Shaker of community of Zion with a broken loom. His childhood friends have destroyed his possessions, accused him of murder and labeled his pregnant wife a witch. The Zion Shakers have given the couple and their five adopted children a place to stay, but unless the family agrees to adopt a celibate life they cannot stay long. Add that to multiple murders for Rees to solve and his frustration level is soaring.

Book six leans heavily on book five, "The Devil's Cold Dish." Readers might prefer to start there, or even start at book one in this well-written series. The promise of book six, which is full of suspense and a surprising murderer, is that after moving the family away from Shaker traditions for a few volumes, book seven should bring them back home.

his the sixth book of this historical series and the first one I have read by this author, I will read her again. I was able to understand the story but I would have benefited by knowing the backstory. I learned a great deal about the Shakers.
Will Rees and his family seek shelter with the Zion group in rural Maine after a series witchcraft accusations against his wife who is heavy with pregnancy. A scream in the early morning awakens the community when a body was discovered in the laundry building. The member had drowned and the Elders do not want to notify the constable. As more strange events occur including additional death and missing young girl and the Elders refusing to inform the constable, Will is determined to move his family to the unused farm inherited by his wife that Shakers feel belongs to them. Before he is able to accomplish this the affair exploded and the villain is discovered. I highly recommend this book. The earlier books are on my TBR list.

Disclosure: Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

Will Rees Mysteries #6

A peaceful Shaker community is rocked by a series of bizarre accidents, but is there more to them than first appears? 

After a long battle proving his innocence of murder, Will is running. With Lydia pregnant along with their other 6 adopted children. Lydia is still being accused of witchcraft and Will is haunted by nightmares of what they went through before.

In hopes of keeping his family safe, they flee to Zion, a Shaker community they have been a part of before. But when people begin to die and disappear, maybe Zion isn't the answer after all. They are all acting very secretive and don't want anyone outside of the community involved, but Will has no intention of letting the killings go. He needs his family safe and now that they are ready to claim Lydia's farm, it seems the leader of the community isn't going to allow that to happen.

So many sketchy characters in here. I hope Will and Lydia get settled and have some peace for a bit in the next one!

Netgalley/Severn House February 01, 2019

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, atmosphere, and characters. I would recommend the book to friends and family for their reading pleasure.