Hunter's Heart Ridge - (Franklin Warren and Alice Bellows Mystery) by Sarah Stewart Taylor

About the Book

"It's November of 1965 and the second weekend of Vermont's regular deer season when Vermont State Police detective Franklin Warren is called out to what looks like an accidental shooting at The Ridge Club, an exclusive men's hunting and fishing club for congressmen, diplomats, judges, and titans of industry: a former ambassador has been shot while out hunting. With the war in Vietnam picking up speed on the other side of the world, Warren quickly realizes that many of the club's members are powerful men who may have ulterior motives and connections in high places. While Warren's suspicions about the club members build, his neighbor Alice Bellows is throwing a dinner party, preparing for Thanksgiving, and worrying about her pregnant friend and fellow widow, Sylvie Weber, whose due date is coming up. When Alice's old handler and friend Arthur Crannock unexpectedly shows up in Bethany, Alice begins to wonder whether his presence has anything to do with the death at the hunting club. As an early season snowstorm bears down on Bethany, knocking out power and phone lines and blocking the roads, Warren and his assistant, Trooper Pinky Goodrich, are trapped at the Ridge Club, likely along with a killer, and Alice, increasingly fearful that her past in the intelligence world is no longer in the past, will have to act fast to save Sylvie and her baby"--

Book Synopsis

In this sequel to Taylor's lyrical series debut, Agony Hill, Detective Frank Warren and his formerly CIA-connected neighbor Alice Bellows return to investigate the death of a diplomat.

It's November of 1965 and the second weekend of Vermont's regular deer season when Vermont State Police detective Franklin Warren is called out to what looks like an accidental shooting at The Ridge Club, an exclusive men's hunting and fishing club for congressmen, diplomats, judges, and titans of industry: a former ambassador has been shot while out hunting. With the war in Vietnam picking up speed on the other side of the world, Warren quickly realizes that many of the club's members are powerful men who may have ulterior motives and connections in high places.

While Warren's suspicions about the club members build, his neighbor Alice Bellows is throwing a dinner party, preparing for Thanksgiving, and worrying about her pregnant friend and fellow widow, Sylvie Weber, whose due date is coming up. When Alice's old handler and friend, Arthur Crannock, unexpectedly shows up in Bethany, Alice begins to wonder whether his presence has anything to do with the death at the hunting club.

As an early season snowstorm bears down on Bethany, knocking out power and phone lines and blocking the roads, Warren and his assistant, Trooper Pinky Goodrich, are trapped at the Ridge Club, likely along with a killer, and Alice, increasingly fearful that her past in the intelligence world is no longer in the past, will have to act fast to save Sylvie and her baby.

Sarah Stewart Taylor's historical series combines the intricacy of a satisfying mystery with keen observation of a time and place during great transformation and upheaval.

Review Quotes

"Clever and suspenseful... the settings are vividly drawn... the characters are quirky and memorable."--Associated Press

"An entertaining, quick-moving story that would be a good addition to a mystery section. "--Library Journal

"Richly drawn characters and an immersive New England setting. By the time Warren cracks the case, readers will be eager for future adventures."--Publishers Weekly

"This closed-circle narrative is wonderfully well-done, deeply satisfying, and a compelling portrait of a community undergoing change. "--First Clue

"Hunter's Heart Ridge is a slow burn that never feels slow paced. This book can be easily enjoyed without having read the first one, though that book does give more characterization to the townies. I recommend that one too (Agony Hill). Anyone who enjoys locked room mysteries, or the familiarity and dynamics of a small town, will definitely enjoy this."--Aunt Agatha's

About the Author

SARAH STEWART TAYLOR is the author of the Sweeney St. George series, set in New England, the Maggie D'arcy mysteries, set in Ireland and on Long Island, and Agony Hill, the first in a new series set in rural Vermont in the 1960s. Sarah has been nominated for an Agatha Award and for the Dashiell Hammett Prize and her mysteries have appeared on numerous Best of the Year lists. A former journalist and teacher, she writes and lives with her family on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries.