Summer, 1965: The weather’s hot, the Vietnam draft is ramping up and there’s a new detective in the sleepy town of Bethany, Vermont. But a mysterious fire and the resulting death of a volatile resident will change this New England burg forever. Sarah Stewart Taylor’s Agony Hill kicks off a historical mystery series set in a time with shocking parallels to the present, and features a vibrant cast of characters led by handsome but haunted Detective Franklin Warren.
Warren, a former Bostonian looking for quiet refuge, has barely unpacked when his new assignment with the state police starts with a bang. Up on Agony Hill, Hugh Weber’s barn just burned down—with Weber inside it. As Warren soon discovers, Weber’s public drunkenness and frequent angry letters to the local newspaper made the New York transplant a Bethany outcast. Weber left behind his much younger wife, Sylvie; the mother of his four (soon to be five) children, Sylvie is a sensitive soul that many misperceive as simple. Does she know more about the fire than she’s telling Warren? What about the mysterious man in the woods on the hill, or Weber’s estranged brother, who’s come to town with an ax to grind? And then there’s the personal tragedy Warren still can’t shake; will this affect his ability to solve a death that may or may not have been homicide?
Taylor, who’s been nominated for an Agatha Award and the Dashiell Hammett Prize, is the author of two mystery series: Sweeney St. George, which is set in New England, and Maggie D’arcy, set on Long Island and in Ireland. Agony Hill is an excellent start to her first historical series. Warren is a thoughtful, complex protagonist, experiencing a new chapter in a tiny town rife with secrets. He is surrounded by fascinating folk, including nosy neighbor (and former spy) Alice Bellows and his fresh-faced colleague “Pinky” Goodrich (so nicknamed for his tendency to blush). Taylor’s strong sense of place and community sets Agony Hill apart, and the mystery of Weber’s fiery demise is resolved in a way that’s both satisfying and thought-provoking.
