Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Murder: A Revolutionary War Mystery [Paperback]

Karen Swee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2003

A tavernmistress in 1777 unravels a puzzle that involves stolen diplomatic letters, spies and avaricious traitors, while trying to find the killer of an overnight guest.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Swee's engaging first novel, set in British-occupied New Jersey in 1777, the widow Abigail Lawrence is trying to raise a teenage daughter and operate a busy tavern amid the tumult of the American Revolution. When Abigail finds the body of a guest pinned to the floor of his room with a British army sword, she's not too stunned to note that the bloodstains on the weapon are inconsistent with the wound having been the cause of death. The local English officers take a keen interest in the murder after Abigail discovers that the dead man was carrying letters addressed to none other than George Washington and John Hancock. With a minimum of historical detail, the author nicely evokes the period. While readers will probably put the pieces of the puzzle together long before the heroine does, no doubt Abigail will hone her sleuthing skills in later installments of what promises to be a fine series.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Debut novelist Swee introduces Abigail Lawrence, a Revolutionary War-era widow and tavern mistress with a decided flair for solving the most difficult of puzzles. After a guest is found literally skewered to the floor in her inn, patriot Abigail is determined to unmask the murderer. Of course, nothing is as simple as it seems, and she is soon caught up in a web of espionage and counterespionage as British and American spies vie for a valuable packet of letters secreted by the dead man. When Abigail's family is endangered, she must match wits with an intriguing and attractive stranger in order to protect her loved ones from the ever-suspicious Captain Edward Philips, one of the British officers occupying the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey. Touted as the only historical mystery set during the Revolutionary War, this authentically detailed whodunit features a feisty heroine willing to take risks and make sacrifices for both her family and her fledgling country. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bridgeworks; 1 edition (November 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882593812
• ISBN-13: 978-1882593811
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,331,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A strong heroine makes a fine debut, January 19, 2004

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Murder: A Revolutionary War Mystery (Paperback)

Set in British-occupied New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the winter of 1777, Swee's debut offers a fine, tense portrait of the times and a bustling view of tavern life under siege.

Narrator and heroine Abigail Lawrence has her hands full. British soldiers are billeted throughout the tavern she has managed for her Uncle Samuel (a Patriot) since losing her husband and son to a fever eight years before. Her 15-year-old-daughter is smitten with one of the dashing young officers; one slip of her rebel tongue would lose the tavern to the British; and then she finds a guest's body in one of the rooms, impaled by a sword.

Pocketing evidence to keep it out of the hands of an imperious British captain, Abigail lands herself in the midst of an intrigue of espionage and treachery. And she still has a tavern to run.

The tavern milieu is exceptionally well done - from clothing, wartime food concerns and the useful organization of the warming kitchen, to the stables, sleeping accommodations, the fine meals and gossipy service, the evening card games and brandy, and the behind-the-scenes work of laundry, kitchen and bill-paying - all of it organic to the setting and plot.

The British and Patriot points-of-view are also subtly done, and the mystery sufficiently baffling. A strong woman who balances on a knife-edge of neutrality, and knows how to pick her battles, Abigail is an appealing, intelligent heroine.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun adventure, February 25, 2004

By 

Momof3 "pixiepierce" (Teaneck, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Murder: A Revolutionary War Mystery (Paperback)

This book was such a fun adventure! Abigail Lawrence is an instantly likeable character with a loveable staff at her taven/inn in New Brunswick during the Revolutionary War. This wonderful first novel by Karen Swee makes you wish you could travel back in time to help her solve the murder of one of her guests. I was sad when the book ended because I felt like I was just getting to know the characters. I would have loved even more descriptions of personality and locale and wouldn't mind if this were the first in a series of books about our friends at Rarian Tavern. Hint hint!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, June 22, 2004

By 

Jason Purdy (Apex, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Murder: A Revolutionary War Mystery (Paperback)

I picked this up in the library in paperback, based on the cover design. Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? This book was worth the read - very entertaining and a good combination of history and murder mystery. This book included a strong female character as well as insights into the role of women in that time period, which was interesting and easy to believe (as a work of historical fiction, you can't be sure where fact & fiction separate).

Check it out!