A Necessary Death($15.00Value)

Description

Next Generation Indie Book award- 1st place historical fiction; Readers Favorite 5 star review; B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree In this cozy historical mystery, an impoverished widow and a surly constable work together to figure out what happened to the dead man in the tavern privy. "Plucky young widow Penelope Corbitt must solve a murder, help the town’s innkeeper/constable bring order to his shambles of a crossroads tavern, and dodge a life of grim servitude under the rule of her arrogant brother-in-law. She navigates racial, social, and cultural barriers in tackling these challenges, and the reader is carried along on her earnest quest. Author Karsten, known for meticulous research, avoids burdening the crisp narrative with irrelevant historical details, but the ones she includes are dead accurate. Readers who delight in well-written historical fiction will feel they have really stepped into colonial America. This book is a great read, from Chapter One to the end." —Larry F. Sommers, best-selling author of The Price of Passage and Izzy Strikes Gold! "Karsten fuses lively historical adventure with reluctant sleuth mystery, creating circumstances that allow an independence-minded Colonial-era widow to break free from societal norms and forge a new future for her family." Booklife Review, Editor's Pick "Immersive, clever, and impeccably detailed, A Necessary Death by Terri Karsten is a charming historical mystery with a healthy dash of pastoral romance...Thematically rich, the mystery delves into a complex tangle of outdated gender roles and societal expectations. The oppressed position of women from this era is a constant undercurrent of the story, as are the burdens of maternal responsibility, godly conduct, and marital duties - whether your husband is alive or not. The expected imbalances of womanly innocence and masculine resolve are often turned on their head, exemplified in the evolving relationship between Miles and the Widow Corbitt. Penelope is a vibrant anachronism, embracing a freedom of thought that echoes Austen's beloved heroines: "Damn propriety and society's rules and good sense." The prose is lyrical, creatively descriptive, and comfortably paced, even with elaborate scene-crafting, and the dialogue is razor-sharp and laced with more humor than one might expect to find between colonial-era characters. With polished language that exhibits the obvious efforts of a keen-eyed editor from the first page, the novel has an engrossing balance of levity, intrigue, and thoughtful thematic exploration, probing into grief in its myriad forms, and the inevitable guilt that comes with forging emotional connections with those left behind, which is rare for a mystery in any era. Impressively consistent in its historical tone and visceral in its portrayal of life more than two centuries ago, this is a deftly plotted and confidently penned mystery that keeps you guessing." ---Self-Publishing Review "... Karsten vividly captures the world of 1763, where women's lives revolved around food, work, and survival, yet Penelope is far more than a caretaker. At 33, she's spent much of her life solving problems created by men, so in addition to cooking and cleaning up the tavern, she tends to the Parson's pregnant wife and helps Miles find the killer. Penelope may not think she's anything special, but readers certainly will. With a careful eye to period detail, A Necessary Death shows just how far grit and keen intelligence will take a colonial woman with limited options.Takeaway: Rich colonial mystery with capable female lead assisting in murder investigation." -Editor's Pick, Booklife Review A Necessary Deat h is a well-written and carefully plotted historical "whodunit" that will appeal to lovers of mysteries, historical fiction, and crime novels. Author Terri Karsten has created a delightful character in Penelope Corbitt, a woman who has faced her fair share of troubles from her wastrel husband, yet remains determined to create a better life for her children. Not only was she prepared to stand up to the men around her, an uncommon trait for women of her time, but she also had a high degree of intelligence and common sense. The treatment of and attitudes of the European settlers toward their Native American compatriots, as well as their black slaves, were fascinating. Although the story is set in the North, where attitudes toward slavery were less harsh than in the turbulent South, it was still clear that for many inhabitants, the Native Americans and blacks were considered to be a lower class of humanity. I was surprised to discover that the common name for an outhouse in the 1760s was, in fact, a 'necessary,' which gives new meaning to the title. This is a short, fun, cleverly constructed read that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. -Review by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite; Review Rating: 5 Stars Terri Karsten was born in California and educated in the Midwest. She landed in Minnesota i