Foto dell'autore

Charles Fergus

Autore di Shadow Catcher

22 opere 351 membri 8 recensioni 2 preferito

Sull'Autore

Charles Fergus is the author of nineteen books, including two collections of nature essays (The Wingless Crow and Thornapples), Trees of New England, Wildlife of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, Trees of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, Swamp Screamer, Bears: Wild Guide, and Turtles: Wild Guide. He mostra altro has written about natural history for many publications, including Pennsylvania Game News, Audubon, Northern Woodlands, Country Journal, and the New York Times. He works as an outreach and communications consultant for the Wildlife Management Institute, a private nonprofit scientific and educational organization. Fergus lives on a 120-acre hill farm in northern Vermont, where he enjoys improving habitats to attract and support local wildlife. See www.charlesfergus.com. mostra meno

Comprende il nome: Charlie Fergus

Serie

Opere di Charles Fergus

Etichette

Informazioni generali

Utenti

Recensioni

Rating: 3.5 of five

The Publisher Says: For fans of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series, a fabulous historical mystery series set in early America.

“Deeply imagined and intricately plotted, A Stranger Here Below marries richly textured historical fiction with the urgency of a mystery novel. Fergus knows certain things, deep in the horses, hunting, the folkways of rural places, and he weaves this wisdom into a stirring tale.” – Geraldine Brooks, author of March and People of the Book

Set in 1835 in the Pennsylvania town of Adamant, Fergus’s first novel in a new mystery series introduces Sheriff Gideon Stoltz, who, as a young deputy, is thrust into his position by the death of the previous sheriff. Gideon faces his first real challenge as death rocks the small town again when the respected judge Hiram Biddle commits suicide. No one is more distraught than Gideon, whom the old judge had befriended as a mentor and hunting partner. Gideon is regarded with suspicion as an he’s new to town, and Pennsylvania Dutch in the back-country Scotch-Irish settlement. And he found the judge’s body.

Making things even tougher is the way the judge’s death stirs up vivid memories of Gideon’s mother’s murder, the trauma that drove him west from his home in the settled Dutch country of eastern Pennsylvania. He had also discovered her body.

At first Gideon simply wants to learn why Judge Biddle killed himself. But as he finds out more about the judge’s past, he realizes that his friend's suicide was spurred by much more than the man’s despair. Gideon’s quest soon becomes more complex as it takes him down a dangerous path into the past.

A Stranger Here Below is so atmospheric, so compelling and convincing, that readers will taste the grit of the dirt roads, cringe at the unsanitary conditions and medical superstitions that inflame a flu epidemic, and marvel at the immensely arduous task of carrying out an investigation using the primitive tools of the early 1800s. Fergus leaves us breathlessly waiting for the next Gideon Stoltz mystery.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review
: Sometimes someone dies who just needed killin'. As this very deliberately paced mystery unfolds, that's the victim. I wasn't sorry he was dead, and was a little peevish about Gideon caring so much as to keep pursuing the matter. Well, anyway, if you're in the mood for a really atmospheric historical read, here's a very good candidate.

The blurb from Geraldine Brooks should tell her fans what they need to know: It's very immersive and has three-dimensional characters. I don't rate it higher because it was slow to get moving and occasionally wandered off down interesting but unnecessary tangents. I will, however, read the next one when Skyhorse Publishing brings it out.
… (altro)
½
 
Segnalato
richardderus | 1 altra recensione | Jul 20, 2023 |
Lay This Body Down, by Charles Fergus, is the third in a series of books featuring Gideon Stoltz, a county sheriff in Pennsylvania some twenty years before the Civil War. Even then the reality of slavery is beginning to separate the people of this community. Pennsylvania at this time has voted to be a slave free state, but the feeling and attitudes of the citizens of the county where Sheriff Stoltz has been sworn to uphold the law vary widely. The Federal laws and the Pennsylvania laws are even at odds as regard the treatment of runaway slaves found within the state. When he is approached by two men from a neighboring state for help in apprehending a runaway slave, Gideon finds himself faced with not only a legal problem, but a moral one. The Sheriff also has his hands full investigating the murder of the owner of a local newspaper, which coincidentally supports the abolitionist movement. Along with a twisting plots the author imbues his novels with vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of Pennsylvania. This book was provided for review by
#novelsuspectsinsider and published by Arcade Publishing.
… (altro)
 
Segnalato
Ronrose1 | 1 altra recensione | Apr 9, 2023 |
A sheriff is suddenly thrust into an uncomfortable position of responsibility when his best friend, Judge Biddle apparently commits suicide. County Sheriff Payton died only a year before. Gideon Stoltz, a young Pennsylvania Dutchman, who was new to the town of Adamant, had been given a chance by Sheriff Payton. He saw something he liked in this young Pennsylvania Dutchman with the strange way of speaking. Gideon can’t shake the feeling that he has to find a reason that the Judge unexpectedly killed himself. Now Sheriff Stoltz must prove to the town and himself that he is up to the job. The story is set deep in the heart of Pennsylvania only a few decades before the start of the Civil War. The population of Scots-Irish are being mixed with Pennsylvania Dutch (German), who bring new ways of living and speaking. A mix that often boils over with fear and resentment. Sheriff Gideon Stoltz has job cut out for him. A Stranger Here Below, by Charles Fergus is a book that will quickly draw you in to the backwoods of Pennsylvania and not let you go until the surprising end. This is the first in a series of three Gideon Stotz books. It was provided for review by Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.… (altro)
 
Segnalato
Ronrose1 | 1 altra recensione | Mar 19, 2023 |
It is never easy to read novels that involve slavery – any aspect of it – but I feel they need to be read so that its horrors are never forgotten. So, this is not an easy book to read but not because it is not well written for it is. It is engrossing, fascinating and well worth your time.

BUT, it will not be a light, airy read so be prepared.

Gideon is starting to feel comfortable as sheriff but the times are anything but. He is dealing with the normal problems and complaints that come with the job as well as having to find a way to handle the growing conflicts between White and Black that are mirroring what is happening on a National level.

Things come to a head when several free Black residents disappear and fears are that they are being sold into slavery. It was very dangerous times to take up for Black folk. Free or not.

A compelling, well researched and well written take on a dark time in our history. Rumors of another book in the series abound and I hope they are true.
… (altro)
 
Segnalato
BooksCooksLooks | 1 altra recensione | Mar 6, 2023 |

Liste

Potrebbero anche piacerti

Statistiche

Opere
22
Utenti
351
Popolarità
#68,159
Voto
3.9
Recensioni
8
ISBN
37
Lingue
1
Preferito da
2

Grafici & Tabelle