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LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF MURDER
by Karen Swee
Bridge Works Publishing, November 2003
320 pages
$15.95
ISBN: 1882593812


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF MURDER starts with a bang -- literally. It's 1777, and the rebels have opened fire on the sloops sailing up the Raritan River on their way to supply the British forces occupying New Brunswick. Abigail Lawrence's heart is with the patriots, but she's pretending neutrality so that she can stay and oversee her tavern, currently stuffed to the rafters with minor redcoat officers.

Her position as quartermistress, plus the excellence of her cook, have saved the tavern from some of the struggles of war. For instance, her uncle's farm is off-limits to the foraging parties, and the British have left her a few rooms that she can still rent out. But life is not easy. Abigail constantly worries about her young daughter who is flirting immoderately with the enemy and the consequences if the occupiers find out about the various rebels among her friends.

Then her maid finds one of the guests stabbed through the heart so hard that the body is pinned to the floor and Abigail really has something to worry about. Particularly when the doctor rules that the true cause of death was poisoning -- but not the same poison found in a hidden glass of wine. George Lee seemed like the average tradesman, just how many people wanted him dead? And why is the English Captain Phillips less interested in finding out who did the murder than he is in searching through the dead man's effects?

Furious at Captain Phillips' casually dismissive attitude towards all things colonial and worse treatment of all things female, Abigail makes it her business to know more about Lee. Soon she is uncovering scandals old and new, and the fate of not only her tavern but also her young country may be in the balance.

A solid mystery grounded in a well-described historical background makes LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF MURDER an interesting and worthy book. I wish Swee had worked in more of the uncertainty of living in a war zone; all of the characters were either Brits or underground patriots, when things could been more exciting if there were unknown or shifting loyalties among the townsfolk. But then, a certain subtlety is lost when there is a main character called Uncle Samuel. On the other hand, Swee makes the excellent choice of working in more issues than just the war, covering slavery, indentured servitude, the status of women, and even period culture, making the book well-rounded.

While not branded as "part of the XYZ series," room has been left for a sequel. Based on LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF MURDER, it will also be well worth reading.

Reviewed by Linnea Dodson, July 2004

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