Edith Maxwell

I was pleasantly surprised with Taken too Soon by Edith Maxwell. I read a lot of cozy mysteries, but not many Quaker or Amish ones. I had read an Amish cozy a few months back and some of the reasons it was off putting to me was how sickly sweet everyone was, the protagonist was passive-aggressive to her boyfriend, and the murder was super easy to solve.

While the murder was easy for me to solve in Taken too Soon, no one was overly sweet, the protagonist realized there are evil people in the show more world, and Rose treats her husband with respect and love.

I was actually really pleased at how competent and intelligent Rose came across. In other cozy mysteries the sleuth will not even speculate about people and their motives, only discovering a clue when it practically trips her. Rose was theorizing about children out of wedlock and nasty men who molest and rape (although that word is never mentioned) young girls. I was so taken aback by this that I even mentioned it to my husband.

And it was really strange that while reading Taken Too Soon I felt myself slow down and get more peaceful. I don’t know if it was the Thees and other types of speech that I’m not accustomed to reading or the beautiful descriptions and great character development, but I didn’t feel myself reading quickly through this book, and yet it was a fast paced story.

I am so happy I read Taken Too Soon and look forward to more books in the Quaker Midwife Mystery series. If you haven’t read any in the series yet, you may want to start with book one, Delivering the Truth, although Maxwell writes so well that you won’t be lost if you start with a book later in the series. show less

It's springtime in Massachusetts, and organic farmer Cam Flaherty is receiving an unexpected and rare visit from her parents whom she's never had a "traditional" relationship with. But life goes on, and Cam has duties; so she leaves her father to help out at the farm while she makes a delivery to Nicole Kingsbury, with whom she has contracted to provide her with seedlings for her hydroponic farming.

When she arrives at Nicole's, she doesn't expect to see a line of protesters condemning her show more operation, and she certainly doesn't expect to see her mother in the group. Trying her best to ignore them, she enters the greenhouse and calls out to Nicole. But it's apparently deserted so she decides to leave the flats and also text her a message stating she's done so. But when she hits 'send' she hears the distinct ping of a cell phone, and goes to investigate. Unfortunately, what she comes across is Nicole's body, slumped over a vat of the slurry she used to feed the plants. Shaken, Cam calls the police.

After being questioned and released, she returns home to tell her father that her mother is also being questioned and will return later. But since her mother Deb admits she went in to speak with Nicole, it unfortunately puts her in the area of being a suspect, and Cam isn't pleased. She also isn't pleased that her boyfriend, Detective Pete Pappas, removes himself from the case and to make matters worse, until they figure out what happened to Nicole, he can't spend any time with her.

But as the case progresses, it turns out that it wasn't an accident but possible homicide, and Cam is convinced her mother is hiding something both from her and the police. While she's positive her mother didn't kill Nicole, it's obvious she's not telling everything.

What makes it harder is that Cam's parents are not ones for demonstrations of affection; neither parent has ever given her the indication that they even cared much about her but even so, she loves her mother and believes in her innocence, and will do whatever it takes to keep her out of prison, even if it puts her own life in danger...

I found this book not only to be a very good mystery, but it also gives us a lot of insight into Cam's parents and her (at times) tenuous relationship with them. When it begins it appears that her parents arriving during prime planting season is more of a hindrance and inconvenience, but as the days go on, the relationship between them changes and grows. Regrettably, it's taken a murder to effect that change.

Cam, although strong and independent, seems unsure where her parents are concerned; it's as if she's walking on eggshells around her mother, while her bond strengthens with her father who, surprisingly, while at first seems to be a disaster at the farm eventually becomes quite a help to her. It takes a bit more however, for her relationship with her mother to truly connect and become closer. This, in my opinion, is the true crux of the book; not only trying to help solve a murder (even if the police don't want her help) while forging a new relationship with, and understanding her mother. It is a delight to watch the changes between them.

As to the murder itself (and we know it must be), I found it to be quite a treat indeed to have several red herrings thrown in, only to find that my initial thoughts came full circle. But unfortunately I can't tell you what those thoughts were, or it gives away the ending. Ah, well...suffice it to say that around nearly every corner we have Cam trying her best to keep the farm up and running, her parents entertained properly, and search for clues whenever she gets the chance. This is one busy woman.

When the murderer is revealed and the reason for it discovered, we understand all too well the machinations, while thinking how easy it is for some people to do evil. This is the fifth book in the series, and is an easy read and well written. It can be read as a stand alone, but if you haven't read any others in the series I suggest you do so, because they're all quite as fun as this one. Highly recommended. show less

A good read, Turning the Tide provides a vivid portrayal of some unique characters in a Massachusetts town in 1888. In Book 3 of the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, Rose Carroll finds a suffragette bludgeoned on the eve of the 1888 election in Amesbury Massachusetts. Like author Edith Maxwell, I am grateful to women of the past who bucked the system for changes I’ve always benefited from. Rose is a different heroine in a small town and her job as midwife takes her behind the scenes in women’s show more lives, while her Quaker upbringing gives her a different slant on the world around her. She’s worried about her clients and whether she’ll be drummed out of her meeting for her engagement to a non-Quaker, while her unusual mother and friends all support the vote for women. There is a shocking scene at the end when the murderer is revealed in pretty unusual circumstances.

What I enjoy most about reading (and writing) historicals are all the unexpected details about what was really happening the past. Edith Maxwell provides a wealth of great and believable detail about this time of transition to electricity and telephones, with realistic carriages in this carriage producing town, election cakes, “Boston marriages”, and how babies were born. Historical characters Elizabeth Cady Stanton and poet John Greenleaf Whittier add to the meticulous detail. You’ll enjoy the flawed but sympathetic cast of characters as well. Highly recommended. show less

Cameron Flaherty owns her uncle's farm which she has decided to convert to certified organic. It means more work, but in the end, she knows it will be worth it. She has just landed the opportunity to provide her uncle's care facility with fresh greens for a meal, and hopes that the result will be a contract to provide for them permanently.

Well, permanently is certainly the right word, but it's not a contract. One of the residents, Bev Montgomery, has permanently checked out of the home after show more eating a meal made with Cam's vegetables. Since she becomes a suspect in the murder, her budding relationship with Detective Pete Pappas is being put on hold, and he's telling her they need to distance themselves until all this is cleared up. Stung, Cam believes it's unfair, and even though Pete tells her to stay out of the investigation, she knows she won't, especially after her uncle is injured in a fall and she thinks it might have been an attack by Bev's killer.

Then things begin to really come undone: Her relationship with Pete is at a standstill, she has trouble on the farm, and she finds herself in the killer's sights. While no real attempts are made on her life, the more she finds out about Bev's murder, the more she puts herself in true danger.

I thought this was a splendid read. The characters were well-developed, and we are allowed at all times to see into Cam's thoughts and feelings, which is indeed refreshing. She is doing her best to make sure her uncle is well-taken care of, and also trying to make her farm a go. At the same time, she is building relationships that will benefit her in the long run, and making new friends who are willing to help her out when it's needed, since she no longer has a hired hand on her farm.

The mystery was well-written and the reasons behind the murder were completely plausible and I enjoyed the way everything came together at the end. Cam proved herself to be quite capable and not hen-witted (pun intended). I didn't discover the killer until right before Cam did, and that in itself is a good sign. This is the third book in the series but you don't need to read the first two to enjoy it. Recommended. show less