Excellent book. Even though quite some time ago, I remember it well!

Footnotes are used extensively to bring to the fore conflicting testimony as well as useful background information. All of this is augmented by excellent maps that illustrate the action. Greene avoids wasting the reader's time with moralizing sermons. He correctly portrays the military as simply trying to do the job thrust upon them by their civilian masters.

Truly, the best parts of this work are the final chapters detailing the culminating conflict at Bear Paw Mountain. At last, I feel like I am on the way towards understanding this battle. I walked away from this book with new respect and understanding for Greene, the Nez Perce and the much-maligned frontier army.

For those who don't know, a Shaker is a member of a sect, like the Quakers, that began in the 1700s. The name "Shaker" referred to their spirit-inspired trembling, which you'll witness in the book. Today, their communities are almost nonexistent, but some Shaker villages have been restored for public view, particularly in the Northeast.

"Sins of a Shaker Summer" takes place in North Homage, Kentucky, during the 1930s when the Believer population was still existing. Sister Rose Callahan is the eldress of the village and the leading sleuth in this series. She's helped by a young friend of hers, Gennie Malone, who had once been part of the community but now lives "out in the world".

The mystery begins when two young girls are found ill after they ingested several poisonous plants on accident. Rose immediately suspects the four new Believers who have transferred from another Shaker village in New York. All of them have some knowledge of herbal medicine, but one individual remains a strong suspect: Patience McCormick. However, when Rose finds Patience dead with a wound to the back of her head, she realizes she was mistaken and that the killer will do anything to keep his/her secrets hidden.

"Sins of a Shaker Summer" is a charming historical mystery. There's nothing offensive in this book, so it's appropriate for all ages. If you've already read this third installment in the Sister Rose Callahan series, I would encourage you to read the other four books: Death of a Winter Shaker (#1), A Deadly Shaker Spring (#2), A Simple Shaker Murder (#4), and Killing Gifts (#5).

It's not necessary to know anything about Shakers before you approach this book. Their lifestyle is gradually explained throughout the book without it reading like a history textbook. Although the lifestyle didn't appeal to me, some readers will probably love their simple way of life.

While I was reading "Sins of a Shaker Summer", I kept thinking about the movie Witness starring Harrison Ford. It's the only film I'm aware of that involves another similar group: the Amish. I would recommend this movie if you like the Shaker / Amish theme, but only if you don't mind the extra sex and violence, which "Sins of a Shaker Summer" has none of.

In the Shaker village of North Homage, Kentucky seven-year-old Betsy and eight-year-old Nora becomes deathly ill from eating and/or drinking "pretend tea" and "magical flowers". When the two unconscious youngsters are found, the entire Shaker community becomes shaken by their tortorous struggle to survive. Eldress Rose Callahan believes the two little girls ate poisonous herbs found in the community's Medicinal Herb Shop that is experimenting on various formulas.

Rose begins her investigation by interviewing the sisters and brethren who work at the shop. Brother Andrew Clark heads the activity and shows proper deference to his equal. However, the other shop employees act as if they still feel the taint of the outsiders. Rose turns to a former protégé now living on the outside, who knows herbs, to help her discover the truth. However, even in the peaceful world of the nonviolent Believers, lives an individual who will kill anyone, including Rose, who

gets too close to their secret.

The Sister Rose Callahan series is always a delight as the novels provide readers with a wonderful mystery and fabulous insight into the bygone world of the Shakers. The current tale, SINS OF A SHAKER brings both elements together in a taut story line. The who-done-it is entertaining, but it is the beliefs and customs of the Shakers inside a fabulous mystery tale that makes Deborah Woodworth's novel worth reading.

Harriet Klausner

Onyx, our heroine, is - in the tradition of much of Kelly's writing - not of the best ton. In fact, she's illegitimate, though brought up in a good family. All her life, though, she's felt that she has to hide, and almost apologise for existing. Now, she has a proposal of marriage: a vicar, Andew Littlewood, has sought her hand. Grateful for the chance to escape her stepmother's tyranny, Onyx accepts.

En route to her fiance's home, however, her carriage is held up by a rough band of robbers who also threaten her virtue. Onyx is rescued by a shabbily-dressed soldier, who is shot and almost killed as a result. The soldier is Major Jack Beresford, returning from the Napoleonic Wars - and, it turns out, he knew Onyx's twin brother.

Onyx feels a definite bond with Jack, but what can she do? She's already engaged to another man, and anyway, once she discovers that Jack is the brother of a marquess, she knows that he's well out of her reach. She has to put him out of her mind, no matter how much he teases and flirts with her. And yet she knows that he needs her too, in several different ways - to help heal the wounds of war, both physical and mental.

This is a wonderful book, ranging from humorous to wistful to angsty to downright tearjerking. I couldn't help but like and feel sorry for Onyx, and who could help falling in love with Jack? And then there's Emily and Adrian, Jack's brother and his wife - also characters I loved getting to know.

A classic Carla Kelly, and well worth the collectors' price!