Freedom’s Ghost: A Mystery of the American Revolution (Bone Rattler)
This seventh in Eliot Pattison’s series of mysteries of the American Revolution seizes a small portion of time in the lead-up to the war: from late February of 1770 through what would become known as the Boston Massacre in March, with a short amount of the aftermath. Choosing such a small morsel of time allows Pattison to push more deeply into the shifting loyalties of that period. Duncan McCallum, a medically trained and unwilling Scottish expatriate who’s found parallels to his situation among both Native Americans and enslaved persons earlier in the series, is known among his friends as one who can “read” the factors in a death. So when murders of British soldiers multiply around him, there’s abundant need for his skills. Unless, of course, his enemies choose to tag him as a murderer.
Duncan has caught the urge for independence for the colonies, but like his ally John Hancock, he’s pushing to hold off hostilities—the colonies are not yet united, and as Benjamin Franklin tells him, “What the patriots need is time.” Instead, the British officers around him, to whom he struggles to be useful, keep taking actions that press the trigger points of revolution. Thus, ironically, Duncan’s role of interpreting the murders becomes one of using small misstatements to hold back attacks by others, especially General Gage, whom Samuel Adams bitterly labels a “master of ghosts.”
Dense narrative is leavened by well-written dialogue and thoughtful insights, and persistent readers can find fresh understanding of this crucial time period, including why the war’s match will set it ablaze in Boston, rather than New York. In addition, Duncan’s continued personal growth and tender frontier-based romance enrich the book’s pleasures.
