Puritan by David Hingley

Puritan is the follow up to the outstanding Birthright and continues the intriguing story of Mercia Blakewood. Having arrived in America and discovered the whereabouts of the Oxford Section, Mercia is looking forward to seeing a bit more of the New World and accepts an invitation from Governor Winthrop to visit Connecticut. She befriends local healer Clemency Carter and travels into the countryside of New England and the town of Meltwater where Puritan settlers have forged an uneasy alliance with the native tribes. The description of both the landscapes and the harsh lives of the New Englanders are vivid and captivating and the new characters introduced in this novel; Clemency in particular are fascinating. However the peacefulness and beauty are shattered when one of the townspeople is murdered. Mercia is determined to discover why. It soon becomes clear that the tensions between those who support the restoration and those who fought for the commonwealth are just as powerful and dangerous here in the New World as they were back in England. As more murders occur suspicion grows and neighbour turns against neighbour. Soon Mercia finds herself in danger and fighting for her life.

This is a thrilling follow up and I am eager to read more about Mercia Blakewood. A must for fans of historical crime fiction and ideal for fans of Andrew Taylor, SJ Deas and SG MacLean.

Published by Alison&Busby 2017 in hardback.

this review originally appeared in Historical Novels Review Issue 80 May 2017 and can be viewed online 

and this link https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/puritan/