The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin (30 page)

“It turns and twists upon itself, revealing complications and complexities of truth and character in suspects and sleuth.
The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin
is also a contribution to the ranks of fictional solutions to unsolved true crimes, such as we find in Tey's
Daughter of Time,
Satterthwait's
Miss Lizzie,
or Dexter's recent Gold Dagger–winning
The Wench is Dead.”

—Mystery News

“Begiebing illuminates ‘the dark and wonderful intricacy' of the human heart.”

—
Yankee

“Like a good wine, this book has an aftertaste that lingers in the mind well after it is finished. It will not be quickly forgotten by any who read it.”

—
Mostly Murder

“This is not ordinary mystery. Just imagine
Peyton Place
as Hawthorne might have written it.”

—
Booklist

“Begiebing brings warmth and passion to a people who are often remembered for their rigidness and superstitions, as in
The Scarlet Letter
and the Salem witch hunts.”

—
Portsmouth Herald

“There is the stuff of a compelling motion picture in this imaginative and carefully written work. Great summer reading.”

—
The Keene Sentinel

“Begiebing has made bold use of conjecture and imagination, changing names and inventing characters to recreate a time and a place far removed from our own—but peopled by men and women whose emotions and motives are entirely recognizable today.”

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Valley News

“A lean and supple tale of Puritan New England.”

—
The Virginia Quarterly Review

“This admirable first novel is dotted throughout with startling accounts of the tribulations suffered by superstitious Christians who settled the alien territory called America.”

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Publishers Weekly

“A great achievement of imagination and research.”

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Boston Magazine

“It is a riveting read—the crime's historical interest is as thrilling to ponder and compare with recent murders as it is to experience in fiction.”

—
New Hampshire Premier

“Tightly written and engaging.”

—
The Seattle Times

“A fresh look at the all too stereotyped Puritans.”

—
Asheville Citizen-Times