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Despite the hardships of the Great Depression, Sister Rose Callahan's Shaker village of North Homage is surviving nicely. Now they have visitors--a group of "reformers" hoping to create a utopian community that allows more freedom. Rose is disturbed by the group's attitudes...and stunned when one of their members is found hanging from a tree. The police are quick to rule the death a suicide but as Rose is leaving the orchard she notices a child hiding in a tree. She is Marin, the orphaned foster child of the dead man, and Rose believes she may have witnessed the hanging. The little girl appears to be deeply troubled, and Rose is shocked to discover the cruelty and neglect that has cursed her short life. Rose's fears grow as Shaker beliefs are challenged, questions about the death remain unanswered, and the little girl draws strange and mysterious pictures of her dreams...images revealing a terrible evil, and the danger that someone may be plotting to silence the only witness to a murder.… (more)
User reviews
While solving the murder is the main plot, there are subplots involving an invasion of sorts by another Utopian group, and a little girl with a abusive past. The plots all seemed to come together neatly, but only a couple of the characters really seemed authentic to me. This may well have been my fault - I think I'd be more in tune with aliens from Mars than 1930's Shakers. Overall, a solidly written piece of historical detective fiction, and I would be pleased to read more.