Sick of long winters, farm chores, and family life, Will Rees longs for the open road. As a traveling weaver, Rees finds farm work repugnant, much to the frustration of his young wife. As winter becomes spring, his spirits lift when the circus arrives in town. However, that excitement quickly turns to dread when the murder of a young Shaker girl thrusts Rees into his unofficial position as the town’s homicide detective.

Setting her novel twenty years after the Revolutionary War in the District of Maine, the author creates a world in which characters struggle against bigotry and sexism to forge strong communities. Although Rees is a leader in these efforts, he is caught in an almost comical midlife crisis. As his investigation intensifies, so does the protagonist’s dangerous fascination with the circus and its performers.

As Rees works to uncover the murderer, he also uncovers his character flaws and past feuds as he struggles to put his ego aside to serve his family and community. A Circle of Dead Girls explores the allure of the road not taken and the relentless yet essential pull of family. Can Rees find his integrity and bring peace back to Durham?

Link to review
APPEARED IN HNR Issue 92 (May 2020)
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/circle-of-dead-girls-a-will-rees-mystery/

A very good historical mystery, well written and gripping.
I liked the well researched historical background, the solid mystery and the well thought cast of characters.
Can't wait to read the next instalment in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Eleanor Kuhns brings the shaker community into the circle of the circus in the nineteenth century in A Circle of Dead Girls. Who is murdering girls? Will Rees, the weaver, has to find out whodunit before someone is condemned who is innocent. Complex and dark historical mystery.

If you haven't read this series- try this intriguing mystery about a weaver in 18th Century Maine married into the Shaker community and solves murders. Will and his family are living in Durham, Maine. He's a little bored (not bored, exactly) so when the circus comes to town, it's as big a deal for him as it is for the kids. Then Leah, a young Shaker woman, is found dead in a field off the road leading to the circus. Will, of course, invesigates- and along the way we meet the various members of the troupe as well as members of the community. It's a well thought out tale with great characters and twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Historical mystery fans will relish this one.

1790s. The circus has arrived in Durham topleasure of the inhabitants. Including Will Rees, but he notices that Magistrate Hanson is also there. A man he blames for his and his family's flight from Dugard two years earlier.
But soon Will is drawn into a murder investigation when a body of a young girl is discovered. Bored with his farm life he seeks out all opportunities to visit the circus, and one person in particular, using the excuse that he is asking them all questions. But will Will's stubbornness and temper distract him from the case.
An enjoyable and well-written mystery, with a cast of well-drawn and mainly likeable characters.

When a Shaker girl runs away from the village to see the circus and turns up dead, weaver Will Rees feels compelled to leave his farm, his wife and children to find the murderer.
Eighth in this historical fiction series, A Circle of Dead Girls might not be the place for newcomers to begin reading. However fans will be happy to catch up with Will as he suffers the angst of turning 40.
A comely ropewalker with the circus lures him from his farm and family, magnifying his longing to return to the life of an itinerant weaver. He also is forced to confront the childhood nemesis he blames for running him away from his childhood home. Will his relationship with his wife Lydia weather the storm?