Murder on Principle by Eleanor Kuhns

Murder on Principle
by Eleanor Kuhns

ISBN-13: 9780727850072
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Released: August 3rd 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Will Rees faces a moral dilemma when a slaveholder is murdered while attempting to recapture a former slave: should he pursue lawful justice or should he let the killer go free? November 1800, Maine. After helping their long-time friend Tobias escort his wife, along with a liberated slave and her child, from the Great Dismal back to Durham, Will and Lydia Rees's lives are interrupted when a dead body is found near their home. The body is that of Mr Gilbert, a slaveholder from the Great Dismal. Was he murdered in pursuit of the former slaves? When it's discovered Gilbert was infected with smallpox, and Gilbert's sister arrives demanding justice and the return of her absconded slaves, Will is torn. Finding the killer could lead to the recapture of the former slaves. Letting them go free could result in a false arrest and endanger the Durham community. Will must make a choice.


My Review:
Murder on Principle is a mystery set in 1800 in Maine. This was the 10th book in a series, but you can follow what's going on without having read the previous books. This book did spoil some events in a previous book but not any whodunits. I didn't find Will be particularly intelligent or engaging. While this was a clue-based mystery, the clues all clearly pointed toward one person. It was easy to catch on to whodunit and each clue only further pointed towards whodunit. Unfortunately, Will was so certain that only certain people would have reason to kill the victims that he didn't look at the clues so much as try to prove his suspects either innocent or guilty. He suspected his friends and destroyed his friendship with them because he didn't trust them when they claim innocence.

The book explored why Will pursued the killer so relentlessly when multiple people told him that he wasn't going to like knowing whodunit because the victims deserved it. In the end, it seemed like he wanted to know so he could personally judge if the person should be punished or not. He allowed someone innocent but out of reach of the law to take the blame. I didn't find this very satisfying, though the real killer might have been treated unfairly if brought to light. I felt there was another solution that would have been better.

Some interesting historical details were woven into the story. I found it ironic that Will declared it a smallpox epidemic when only one living person was known to be sick. There was no sex. There was one use of bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.