The Swift and the Harrier
Minette Walters spent many years as a bestselling thriller writer before turning her talents to historical fiction, and The Swift and The Harrier is her third historical novel set in her home county of Dorset. The story, set in the 1640s, features Jayne Swift, a female physician who, despite being from a royalist family, insists on treating people from both sides of the civil war. On a quest to treat a family in Dorchester, she first encounters William Harrier, who offers himself as a chaperone as violent feeling is stirred up and war commences.
Swift and Harrier meet again several times during the next few years. Jayne holds true to her neutrality by tending the wounded on both sides during the battle at Lyme and at her home, and through her eyes we watch the brutality and horror of war unfold. Walters has a gift for creating characters that you root for despite their flaws, along with a talent for writing fast-paced, page-turning stories. By focusing on the impact of war on one locality, Walters creates a poignancy and tension in the story that equals her previous Dorset books. Perfect for fans of K. J. Maitland and S. G. MacLean.
