My name is Lydia Jane Rees and my life truly began when I ran away to the Shakers.

Oh, I had the usual upbringing for a daughter of good family in Boston. My life was planned out for me: marriage to a young man of good family – and one chosen by my father – and then the kind of life my mother and stepmother had.

But the man chosen by my father turned out to be no gentleman. In the ensuing scandal I fled to the District of Maine and shortly after signed the Covenant with the Shakers. I became a beekeeper and for a time the peace and simplicity of the life appealed.

Then I met a neighboring farmer who was also drawn to the simplicity of the Shakers’ life. On the verge of signing the Covenant and surrendering his rich farm to the Shaker community, he met me and hesitated. I suddenly found celibacy very hard.

When I began to show, the Shakers expelled me from the group. I thought Charles would confess our hasty and furtive marriage then but he didn’t. Fortunately for me, the Elders allowed me to live in a cottage on the grounds with the bees.

And then Charles was murdered and I had no way of proving myself a virtuous wife as well as a mother. My little daughter died of the flux and I was truly alone.

And then another of the Sisters was murdered. A big red-headed weaver by the name of Will Rees came to Zion to investigate. I was called in to chaperone when he questioned the Sisters. I didn’t like him at first; I thought he was arrogant. But I grew to appreciate his honesty and his sense of justice. And, although I didn’t expect to be involved in the investigation, I was. I knew I had found my life’s passion.

Through the course of several investigations my relationship with Will Rees changed and we married. We adopted five children and had another, a little girl, of our own. After Will was accused of a murder – and I was accused of witchcraft – we fled his hometown and sought refuge in Zion; the community in which I had been a Shaker Sister. We’d no sooner arrived than the Brother assigned to Will as a roommate was found dead in the washtub. Murdered. Someone had struck him over the head and put him in the tub to drown. A few days later a young man, little more than a boy really, was found murdered. Even the Shaker community, our sanctuary, was not safe. I began worrying about the safety of my children. We had just fled one town. Were we in danger again?

I hear my husband’s voice outside. I will take a break from my duties in the kitchen and meet him. Although we are not supposed to interact – in this community men and woman are separated – Will and I will walk and talk and he will share all that he recently learned. Besides discussing our future, we will discover who, in this religious community, is a murderer.

You can read more about Lydia in The Shaker Murders, the sixth book in the “Will Rees” historical mystery series, released February 1, 2019.

A peaceful Shaker community is rocked by a series of bizarre accidents, but is there more to them than first appears?

Fresh from facing allegations of witchcraft and murder, travelling weaver Will Rees, his heavily pregnant wife Lydia and six adopted children take refuge in Zion, a Shaker community in rural Maine. Shortly after their arrival, screams in the night reveal a drowned body . . . but is it murder or an unfortunate accident? The Shaker Elders argue it was just an accident, but Rees believes otherwise.

As Will investigates further, more deaths follow and a young girl vanishes from the community. Haunted by nightmares for his family’s safety, Rees must rush to uncover the truth before the dreams can become reality and more lives are lost. Yet can the Shaker Elders be trusted, or is an outsider involved?

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Photo courtesy of Rana Faure

About the author
Eleanor Kuhns is the 2011 winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel. A lifelong librarian, she received her Masters from Columbia University and is writing full-time.

You can reach out to Eleanor at eleanor-kuhns.com, or on her blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

All comments are welcomed.