Customer Reviews

Death of a Winter Shaker

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book. Before reading it, about all I knew about the Shakers was that they were originally a fringe group of Quakers who shook (rather than quaked) in the presence of the Lord, and who believed in chastity for all members -- and that they made beautiful furniture and were outstanding cooks. But this book takes you right into a Shaker community, and makes the people seem very real. It therefore provided a fascinating glimpse into their way of life. But that was all serendipitious -- it is an excellent mystery in its own right, and thoroughly enjoyable. I can't wait to read the rest of this series.

This is a fascinating novel about a part of American history that I don't know very well. Shaker society was never really covered in class, and so I read this with fascination. Besides the well done parts about Shaker society, the mystery itself is also fun to read about. Sister Callahan seems to be the only sane person sometimes there as the other Shakers are portrayed as religious fanatics to the point of being violently fanatical. I'm hoping that the people we meet in the next book will be a tad calmer. Besides that one problem I was still enchanted by this book and look forward to the next one.

Having visited a Shaker village and purchasing my copy there, I found that I could visualize the setting so easily. Ms. Woodworth does an excellant job of presenting the Shaker community very accurately. ( from what I learned ) I was very surprised at the development of the plot.
I am looking forward to adding the rest of the Shaker mysteries to my collection

While Sister Rose Callahan is an interesting and unexpected detective, this book only barely makes it into my "recommend" column. The material on latterday Shaker communities is fascinating and seems to be presented honestly. The members of the Shaker community are shown to have faults and doubts regarding their faith and the larger community is shown to have prejudices toward the Shakers. The attractions and difficulties of living among Shakers are nicely presented. However, the mystery is barely passable. Wordworth does not play fair with readers who like to predict the solution to the mystery. She presents almost no definitive clues and introduces vital information late in the story. Knowing this book is the first in a series also raises questions: Will there be frequent murders among the peaceful Shakers? How will Sister Rose manage to get involved in enough mayhem, while remaining an observant Shaker, to justify a series? I'll read the next one in hopes it is a better mystery, but I won't anticipate continuing the series if it is not.

A dead body is found in the herb drying house of the small and rapidly diminishing Kentucky Society of Believers (Shakers) community. Although only in her thirties, Trustee Rose Callahan is the most competent to uncover the perpetrator of this crime which cuts deep into the group's deep dedication to peace, and gives ammunition to locals who believe the murder to be an outcome of a weird Shaker ritual. It does not help that autocratic Elder Wilhelm Lundel has been encouraging some members to take up long out of date Shaker practices involving trance dancing and speaking in tongues. The community's fears escalate when their barn and old water house are burned, and another member is murdered. Is the villain one of theirs, or a vengeful neighbor?

Deborah Woodworth's degree in the Sociology of Religion serves her well in this story. Although she has created a fictional Kentucky community, her recreation of the practices of Shaker beliefs ring true. Of note is the fact that the Believers consider women equal to men because they see God as possessing both male and female attributes. Yet, although they work and live side by side, they are not allowed to meet alone, nor touch, and chastity is considered the highest form of worship.

Depression era realities also are highlighted in the story. Not only did Believers dress, create their families, and worship differently, they often had better crops and made more food than their neighbors. Generous to all who came, the group was a target for many hungry, homeless folk who arrived at their doorstep professing their interest in becoming a Believer. This occurred chiefly in the Winter; in Spring many moved on.