Customer Reviews

Schlussel's Woman

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August 29, 2004

Considered the spawn of Satan, Captain Isaac Schlussel is a wealthy dominant dictator. Despised by most, if not all, within the village he himself created. So much, that during a meeting on the night of April 15, 1830 this ruthless man is shot.

Nancy Ann Cadwallader Schlussel, the captain's young wife considers herself as much property, as the slaves that maintained the enormous estate.

Unafraid and with life hanging by a string, Schlussel contemplates his very existence and the man that had summoned the courage to fire the fatal blow, destroying his dreams, plans and future. Guilt ridden, Nancy keeps vigil by his bedside for two nights.

With a cast of shady, suspicious characters only one-question remains: Who fired the gun? And why?

With well-done research author John Richard Lindermuth has woven an exceptional tale, and it shows in his depictions of this time period. Schlussel's Woman will not only give a glimpse into the "gold rush" days, entrepreneurial capitalism but also of the men who helped mold it. There are no illusions about the cynical and ruthless nature of this era. This is certainly one book you won't want to miss!

Reviewed by Betsie

Enjoy a tale by a very talented storyteller who creates a time and place you've never been, yet upon reading this book, you'll feel like you know the people, time and place. His people are very real and very human and you'll feel as though you've stepped back in time, yet the people will seem familiar.

An ambitious man, Captain Schlussel, has created enemies by his relentless drive for money and power. He owns a gun powder factory and the town where the workers live. He has married a girl barely in her teens upon the death of his first wife. Will his enemies bring about his downfall? How?

His wife is beginning to realize how empty her life is when an itinerant artist appears at their door. Thus begins a period of complicated relationships for her and a growing emotional distance from her husband. What will happen if he realizes what is happening under his own roof?

A finely balanced tale of love and hate, indifference and greed, with you as an additional character in the story, peering into the portals of the hearts and minds of characters as they decide their own fates. Reading this book is like going home in the sense of realism the author manages to inject into his characters personalities, some you'll seem to recognize as old friends.

Highly recommended as a read you won't soon forget. You'll be looking for other books by this talented author. A keeper you'll want to reread. Enjoy. I certainly did.

The past and present in Isaac Schlussel's life merge in this tale as the feared and revered man lays on what may well be his deathbed. The players are viewed through the victims remembrances of his past life.

John Lindermuth's landscape and character descriptions take the reader to a bygone day when our country's settlers struggled to find happiness, success and justice: by any means. The puzzle doesn't come together till the end of the book. Good read, John.

Reviewed by Wanda C. Keesey

Isaac Schlussel has always been a man driven to succeed in life, at least from the standpoint of money, possessions, and business deals. Morality, legality, and emotions such as love have had little influence upon Schlussel. Someone shoots him in the opening of the book, and the reader learns how just about everybody else in Schlussel's town have good reasons to want him dead. He had built the town to support the business of coal mining in the early 1800's, and the story begins in a series of flashbacks in 1830 after Schlussel has been mortally wounded.

John Richard Lindermuth is very familiar with the time, place, and subject matter of his short novel of historical fiction. The characters speak in the dialect of the time, accurately placing the reader in the small, pioneer town in Pennsylvania coal country. The realism of the story slowly crawls off the pages as the whodunit unfolds. Schlussel's Woman is a quiet character study explained in an historical context by an experienced writer. Schlussel's Woman is not a flashy, action-packed adventure for kids. It is a quiet little mystery involving love, betrayal, envy, jealousy, greed, and murder. The setting adds flavor to the stew.

Enjoy a tale by a very talented storyteller who creates a time and place you've never been, yet upon reading this book, you'll feel like you know the people, time and place. His people are very real and very human and you'll feel as though you've stepped back in time, yet the people will seem familiar.

An ambitious man, Captain Schlussel, has created enemies by his relentless drive for money and power. He owns a gun powder factory and the town where the workers live. He has married a girl barely in her teens upon the death of his first wife. Will his enemies bring about his downfall? How?

His wife is beginning to realize how empty her life is when an itinerant artist appears at their door. Thus begins a period of complicated relationships for her and a growing emotional distance from her husband. What will happen if he realizes what is happening under his own roof?

A finely balanced tale of love and hate, indifference and greed, with you as an additional character in the story, peering into the portals of the hearts and minds of characters as they decide their own fates. Reading this book is like going home in the sense of realism the author manages to inject into his characters personalities, some you'll seem to recognize as old friends.

Highly recommended as a read you won't soon forget. You'll be looking for other books by this talented author. A keeper you'll want to reread. Enjoy. I certainly did.

As the author of this novel, I offer here the opinion of a few other reviewers:

"The emerging coal industry is but a backdrop for what becomes a mystery story, a psychological thriller with so many twists and turns the reader has a hard time putting it down." Jake Betz, The News-Item, Shamokin PA

"Schlussel's Woman is a commendable attempt at historical fiction...nature and the natural world come into vivid focus through Mr. Lindermuth's lyrical descriptions." Roundtable Reviews

"Lindermuth fits a lot into this book. It's a quick read, but one that should stay with you longer than many an overstuffed historical epic." Dave Howell, Rambles

"I was just blown away by the complicated perspectives, goals and priorities developed into each character and their tale. This is a wonderful book that rings very true to the reader." Ramona, Lighthouse Literary Reviews.