Customer Reviews

The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin

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Robert J. Begiebing's The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin is ostensibly a murder mystery but that is not the true delight of the story. The basic story is that of the investigation of the murder of a young woman found naked in a river in 1648 New England by Richard Browne. Onto this basic mystery-thriller narrative is attached the tale of Puritan New Englanders living and surviving in an hostile territory with all their beliefs and superstitions tested, preserved and adapted. The characters are vivid and the writing is both moody and evocative. It was a joy to read and it does truly transport the reader to a different time. It is also a pleasure that the author never resorts to black and white portrayals. Everything and everyone is vividly complex. The mystery, whodunit, element per se is not the strongest element in the book but it is an effective hook to initially capture the reader and take her into this fascinating world.

Unique and haunting. A difficult novel to categorize - even harder to describe accurately without spoiling its effect for the prospective reader. Impressively depicts a time and place and, most importantly, the people who settled New England. Very few stories can compare: The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, come to mind. Strange and hypnotic, bordering on a metaphysical tale -- this mystery has more to do with tormented hearts and hungers of the soul than with the solving of a tragic murder. And Mr. Begiebing almost makes it work completely...but not quite.Somehow there was something lacking in the last section, some shift of emphasis away from the central story and its characters' dilemma that left me wanting. Perhaps a re-reading will change my opinion. Undoubtedly there is much splendid writing here, the kind you pause to savor a couple more times before proceeding with the story. And the story itself, for the majority of its length, fascinates: the true mystery here belonging to the motives of men and women of faith - or its lacking - in the unfathomable wilderness of 17th century New England. Unfathomable landscapes without and within. Mr. Begiebing draws you into America's antique soul to reveal its present day shadows. A splendid book that deserves many readers!

The premise of this short novel, a mysterious and brutal death, is intriguing, as is its setting. The writing is intelligent and the main character, Richard Browne, is well explored. His uncertainty and mis-steps are particularly appealing. Most of the detail regarding life in 17th century New England is accurate. Once the plot line is laid out, however, the story never goes anywhere else, sinking into 100 pages of dialogue and inner monologue. The solution to the mystery is provided halfway through, and there is no sense of climax or resolution. A pity that a book with such a promising beginning ends on such a flat note.

I happened upon this book by accident, but am glad I did. It is a mystery that pulls you from page to page. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect is the language in which it is written: I frequently had to grab for the dictionary, but the word was always there. While understandable, the Colonial-era terminology used made it all the more authentic. An easy, enjoyable read, thick with atmosphere and imagination. It lingered on in my mind a good week after I had finished it.

This is a strange book - jumping from several points of view, it seems, on the surface, to be a standard procedural mystery: a woman is murdered in 17th C New England, and a young English lawyer takes on the case - unofficially, almost as a hobby. Based on an actual unsolved murder in the early American colonies, `The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin' also examines ideas of faith, jealousy, love, and the place of women (especially educated and intelligent women) in the 17th C. The plot is basic: Richard Browne, newly arrived from England, is asked to look into the death of Katherin Coffin, whose mutilated body has been found in a river. Browne has many motivations for journeying to New England, not the least of which is building a family fortune through trade. However, his inquiries raise a host of issues and problems, and Browne has to decide what to reveal, and what to keep secret. Complicating matters still further is his attraction to the primary suspect's wife, Elizabeth Higgins.

On the good side, the mystery and its solution are intriguing; in addition, the paranoia of the early colonies regarding `black arts' and the Natives is pretty historically accurate. On the shaky side, the narrative seems to lose its way in the middle: granted, life moved more slowly in this era, but the book gets bogged down in the subplots, and there's no sense of urgency. Also, I really didn't get the attempt at romance, as Elizabeth, while described as attractive, also seemed bitter and a bit off her head. Even Browne doesn't understand his attraction to a woman beneath his social standing, so the end doesn't work for me. The solution to the mystery is believable, and certainly what happens to Elizabeth's husband works, but on the whole, the book didn't grab me in a major way, and if a reader doesn't know the historical background, it may not hold interest by the middle. I thought the best section was the diary of the murder victim -- of all the characters, she had my sympathy.

The story unwinds somewhat tediously at first, but the author has an excellent feel for metering out suspense. A few of the references/passages are a bit over-the-top, but overall the plot unwinds with a good deal of "who done it" intrigue through the description of tense scenes between the story's main characters, and in the wretched rape and murder of Mistress Coffin. As for plotting, the end is a bit of a let down, but I would read it again for the writing alone, which is quite good.

I don't recommend this book. The plot of this book is engaging and it does unfold nicely, which kept me reading, but there were other elements that make it unbearable. The writing was stiff and plodding at times. You know the educated men are educated because they speak Latin. The author goes out of his way to explain some customs and behaviors of the time but ignores others altogether, which sometimes makes it laughable. There were kitchens in the 1600s? There's a journal written as if it the writer watched the events unfold on TV. And the rape/murder scene at the end was so morbidly horrific that I got out of bed and threw the book away. I didn't read the last chapter.

It is a shame that this well-writtne novel is shelved with the mysteries, because it deserves a wider audience. I began it looking for an entertainingg "whodunit", but I was quickly engrossed in the world of colonial New England, which the author describes like one who has lived there! The plot was good, but the setting was better, and best of all were the characters, whose personal and ethical problems grew from and gave me insight into their age.