Rhode Island Books

Another maid has been found laying dead on the cliff walk. Or is she, maid that is.

A repeat murderer must be at work. Maids have been dying. However, Detective Matt Devlin realizes that while the battered woman lying along the cliff walk is wearing maid's uniform she has hands much too soft and unblemished to be that of a maid. Before long Devlin is thrown together with one of the well-to-do inhabitants of the 'cottages' to work toward the solving of this puzzling mystery.

Brooke Cassidy and Devlin had been childhood friends during the years before the death of her working class parents to a carriage accident and Brooke's subsequent leaving of Newport, Rhode Island for a very different life in New York City. Now Brooke is back and living as the ward of her affluent relatives, the Olmsteads.

When all the clues begin pointing to Uncle Henry as the murderer, Matt has no choice but to arrest him. Brooke's `damn the torpedoes full steam ahead' tenacity coupled with Matt's superior, thought plodding, investigative ability do uncover the true killer. Their discovery comes too late to prevent the death of another but not before another woman falls prey to the mad man.

What an interesting tale is to be found on the pages of Death on The Cliff Walk .
Set in 1895 Death on The Cliff Walk is a suspense filled historical novel. This is a gripping tale filled with intriguing well developed characters, credible dialogue and plenty of uncertainty. Duplicity abounds as the pair works toward solving the conundrum. Brooke as the bemused amateur sleuth is a sensible young woman who knows that she cannot simply live the life of the idle rich as her wealthy relatives want her to do. Rather she is determined to help solve the case. I've known people like this peppy girl!

Matt Devlin is the perfect quiet, introspective foil to Brooke's headstrong determination. Kruger's Brooke Cassidy is reminiscent of Brenda Bolden's Bird Series' Alex Masters. Both girls are determined, impatient and intent upon finding answers, right now. It is their willingness to rush forward despite all odds that often brings Cassidy and Masters both face to face with real, personal problems in addition to the one they were trying to solve.

Watch those red herrings. Do not fall into their grip or you may find yourself surprised when you reach the last paragraph of this action packed thriller. Good book for a `lazy afternoon on the porch reading day.'

I hope this is not the only book in which we will find Matt Devlin and Brooke Cassidy working together to solve a perplexing case.

Reviewed by: molly martin

"Death Seem'd to Stare" marks Joseph Lee Boyle's third book honoring the identities of the heroes of the six-month encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-1778. His previous volumes, "Fire Cake and Water" and "What Can't Brave Americans Endure?" identify the Connecticut and New Jersey soldiers, respectively, who were among the 30,000 individuals whose names appear on the National Archives muster and payroll records of the beleaguered Valley Forge encampment. Boyle's latest volume examines the New Hampshire and Rhode Island contingents.

Mr. Boyle's informative Introduction traces the service of the New Hampshire and Rhode Island regiments before and after they joined General Washington in November 1777. The New Hampshire units, for example, fought opposite portions of General Burgoyne's army at Hubbardton, Vermont; and, later, under General Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Freeman's Farm. For their part, the Rhode Island regiments participated in the American defeat of a Hessian assault on Fort Mercer, New Jersey, in October of the same year. During the Valley Forge winter of 1778, however, "virtually half the New Hampshire units were destitute of any kind of shoes or stockings to their feet." Their Rhode Island counterparts "at this Sevear Season of the year, are, the greatest part of them almost Stark naked, Destitute of Every necessary of life...." Despite these privations, the New Hampshire regiments would later fight victoriously at the Battle of Newtown in 1779. At the Battle of Rhode Island, in August 1778, "The first Rhode Island distinguished itself, and the bravery of the Black soldiers was praised by a number of officers."

Like the other two books, the core of "Death Seem'd to Stare" consists of an alphabetical list in excess of 2,500 New Hampshire and Rhode Island soldiers abstracted from Revolutionary War muster and payrolls. Each patriot is identified by name, rank, date, and term of enlistment or commission, names of regiment and company, and a variety of supporting details, such as date of furlough or discharge, when wounded, when and where promoted, etc. In support of the abstracts, the author has prepared a detailed glossary of terms found in the rosters, an explanatory list of locations referred to in the entries, and a lengthy, up-to-date bibliography.

Like its predecessors, "Death Seem'd to Stare" is a significant contribution to our understanding of one of the most critical moments in the American past.

I moved to Florida and really miss stiper fishing in the Boston area. This guide gives you pretty much everything you need to learn about the area. There is a lot of good fishing around if you are willing to be a little adventuresome. Now I sight fish for redfish. Almost as good.

I love the Easyfinder laminated maps from Rand McNally. They are extremely durable, meaning I won't have to repurchase a map that gets torn, spilled on, or just plain worn out. Even better, I can mark my routes & destinations on them with dry erase marker, then just wipe off when no longer needed. Map detail is top notch, as you would expect from Rand McNally. Great for local tag sale bargain hunting or longer trips. 5 stars, definitely my favorite maps.

I love the Easyfinder laminated maps from Rand McNally. They are extremely durable, meaning I won't have to repurchase a map that gets torn, spilled on, or just plain worn out. Even better, I can mark my routes & destinations on them with dry erase marker, then just wipe off when no longer needed. Map detail is top notch, as you would expect from Rand McNally. Great for local tag sale bargain hunting or longer trips. 5 stars, definitely my favorite maps.

What a delight for a Canuck girl far from home to come across David Plante's FRANCOEUR NOVELS: The Family, the Woods, the Country. I read them as soon as they came out in the early eighties, and then looked for Plante's books everywhere. David's French Canadian enclave in Providence had much in common with the Woonsocket and Pawtucket of my youth. He nails the intensity of the French Catholic Church. Plantes' family, like most French Canadians, had an Indian ancestor. Naturally I was drawn and intriqued that he was also part Blackfeet. What was the Blackfeet, French Canadian, Rhode Island connection? The Northern Plains of Montana and Alberta Canada are worlds and thousands of miles away from the urban milltowns of New England. Yet when I traveled there the women looked like my grandmother Mimi and the men like her brother mon oncle Leo. They knew about the Lamberts and welcomed me into their homes and tipis. Mothers and grandmothers sent us home with gifts of pemmican and sweetgrass and pictures to show my grandmother and matantes of me and my toddler standing in front of the tipi they taught me to raise. Years later I met Tchin, a stately Blackfeet/Narragansett silverworker who said that many Blackfeet, who were legendary travelers like the French Canadians, had gone East in the eighteen thirties during a famine and many marriages had resulted. And then there were the Voyageurs who traveled West from the time they arrived in Canada in the 1500s returning with Indian brides, so that nearly every family had Indian ancestry shown in the chisled faces they bent over factory looms and in the straight black hair they kept braided and wrapped in kerchiefs to keep it from getting caught in the textile machines. Plante's lyrical and haunting FRANCOEUR NOVELS will feel queasily familar to those millions raised with "foi, langue, et famille" in French Canadian mill towns in New England, and reveal a little known culture to everyone else. I can't wait to read Plante's new AMERICAN GHOSTS.

While the focus is on, as the subtitle proclaims, "Spirits, Scoundrels, Legends, and Lore," the book provides a large amount of background on Rhode Island, the Providence Plantations, and, of course, Newport itself.

If you ever go to Newport, one-time playground of the world's wealthiest men, this book is almost essential; and even if you never plan to go, it's interesting, well-written, and nicely illustrated. I was grabbed in the first chapter by the story of the Jailhouse Inn, a renovated colonial prison:

"The Newport Jailhouse was not designed to be completely escape-proof. It was never considered particularly strong or secure. Especially early in Newport history, jail sentences were rare; colonists preferred public humiliation as punishment for crimes."

I was surprised by how well written and well researched this book is. Most of the photography was very good, too - and there's lots of it (though some photos are a bit muddy, which I believe is the publishers' fault based on my experience with print).

Although no doubt a useful guide to serious researchers interested in the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff collection at MIT, this work's value to the yachtsman starts with Appendix C - the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Construction Record. This appendix is a facsimile reproduction of the actual construction records of the Company, both sail and power, in order of hull number, and including original owners and yacht names. An invaluable guide for those interested in classic yacht restoration and history.

I first saw this book while having dinner on a friends boat. I liked it so much, especially since I used to sail on a Herreshoff boat when I was a kid, that I got my own copy. Its really well written, and the Herreshoff family is pretty amazing. Nat isn't ever going to make Father of the Year, but he really designed some great boats. His son Francis somehow survived his father and made his own great boats. This is a beautiful book, with lots of amazing photographs, and a great story too. I never knew about all the power boats that the Herreshoffs designed, or all the boats for the navy. I think even people who just want an interesting book to read with beautiful photographs would like this book.

Like the book My wife and I like going to new places for a weekend .