by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Set in Bethany, Vermont in 1965, Agony Hill is the first book in a new series. After reading it I can say that this series is off to a good start.

Police detective, Franklin Warren, leaves Boston to move to Bethany, Vermont to take a new job with the Vermont State Police. He is ready for a new start after suffering a tragedy and a small town in rural Vermont seems like a good place to start. Warren, as he is called, is still unpacking when he gets a call that a local farmer, Hugh Weber, has died from a fire in his locked barn. The police initially rule it as a suicide but then began to realize that it was actually a murder. But how could the killer murder Hugh, start the fire and then escape with the barn door bolted from the inside and no other way out?

As Warren begins investigating he realizes that more than one person in Bethany and the surrounding area have secrets, including Hugh’s wife. Agony Hill has a strong sense of place and rural Vermont is really brought to life. It is a time of change because the Vietnam war is heating up and an interstate is coming to their town and that will change everything. Hugh is a bit of a drinker and a crackpot and he is protesting the interstate. The Townspeople are wary of him. He has also had an altercation with a former friend, so there are several suspects in his murder. Warren also has a widowed neighbor, Alice Bellows who is an amateur detective with secrets of her own.

If you enjoy mysteries with a strong sense of place, small town secrets and an intriguing locked room murder, you will enjoy Agony Hill. I am looking forward to the next book in this new series.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.