Excitement runs high during Presidential election week in 1888. The Woman Suffrage Association plans a demonstration and movement leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton comes to town to rally the troops. When Quaker midwife Rose Carroll finds the body of the group's local organizer the next morning, she can't help but wonder who could have committed the murder.
Rose quickly discovers several people who have motives. The victim had planned to leave her controlling husband, and a recent promotion had cost a male colleague his job. She had also recently spurned a fellow suffragist's affections. After Rose's own life is threatened, identifying the killer takes on a personal sense of urgency.
This story starts with Rose and her friend Bertie (the Postmistress) attending a Suffragette meeting, this meeting is to finalise plans for a peaceful demonstration outside the Polling Station in a few days time, and they are lucky enough to have a major member of the Suffrage movement in the form of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who not only came to speak but is staying for the demonstration as well. As Rose and Bertie are leaving (or waiting to get their yellow sashes prior to leaving) they see the local leader stiffen and later they see her walking with another lady, seemingly arguing.
That evening Rose is called out to a birth and on the way home she sees a foot sticking out from a bush, the foot belongs to Rowan Felch, the leader of the local group and from there on in Rose is pulled in more than one direction, luckily she has her betrothed as support and her Mother has come as part of the Suffrage movement. Is this one case that is too much for this plucky Quaker Midwife though?
Edith Maxwell has hit all my buttons again with this one, history, women's history in particular, a strong main character and well rounded supporting characters. We see grief, anger, fear and love, everything you expect in a normal life and it is all interwoven into a brilliant story, keep them coming please Edith!
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