Death of a Mill Girl

I'm not even a huge mystery fan, but I LOVED this book because of the New Hampshire setting and the broody hero, Josiah Beede. I love books that teach me something without knocking me over the head with it and I learned a ton about mill girls and how badly they were treated. Really, a terrific read--I can't recommend it highly aenough. Great setting, suspenseful plot, and wonderful characterization.

Clyde's Linsley's second novel is an entertaining blend of history and mystery, starring a young lawyer/war hero/farmer/detective named Josiah Beede. (Disclosure: The author and I are old friends.) Set in 1836 New Hampshire, "Death of a Mill Girl" also takes a damning look at the fabric industry, which made owners rich and employees sick. When a girl's body is found on a neighbor's farm by a traveling peddler, Beede agrees to investigate. Beede, we are told, is famous for having solved a crime or two while in New Orleans, where he was a war hero serving under Andrew Jackson. The investigation takes Beede to a nearby mill town, while the peddler, a suspect by default, works on Beede's farm where Randolph, a former slave, can keep an eye on him. The way Randolph is treated and viewed by all these Yankees shows that racism wasn't limited to the South. And Beede's overnight stay with a mill owner sheds light on the economics of the cotton industry, relying on slave labor in the cotton fields and exploited labor in the mill, where the air was choked with fibers and employees were powerless to force changes. From the mill, Beede embarks on a search for the killer that is both involving and surprising. Linsley weaves a lot of background on Beede into the story, creating a fully rounded, believable character from whom we can expect more entertaining adventures in future novels.