Death in the Great Dismal (A Will Rees Mystery 9)
It is 1800 in Maine, and Will Rees agrees to accompany his friend Tobias, a former slave, on a dangerous journey back into the American South. Accompanied by Rees’s wife Lydia, they travel into the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia in order to get Tobias’s pregnant wife, Ruth, and bring her back to Maine. The Great Dismal Swamp is a place so dangerous and filled with poisonous creatures, harmful vegetation, pools of black water and life-threatening terrain that even the slave catchers hesitate to go in. Despite the dangers, a village of the formerly enslaved has formed deep in this place, living off the land and learning the wild ways of the swamp. Shortly after Rees, Lydia, and Tobias reach the village, a murder is committed, and fingers are pointed at Tobias. Although there is some distrust due to his white skin, the village leaders allow Rees to investigate the murder and find the killer.
This is the ninth book in the Will Rees series. It can be read as a standalone, but the reader will benefit from reading the previous books. This is a fascinating look at the Great Dismal Swamp and the enslaved who fled there trying to find freedom. The murder mystery is multi-faceted, with many red herrings and plot twists. The treatment of the slaves by those who felt they could own another human being, body and soul, is described in horrific detail. The description of the Swamp paints a picture of a place so dangerous and horrible that only those fleeing something much worse would try to live there. Recommended for those interested in learning more about the Great Dismal Swamp or those interested in historical fiction and mysteries.