Book Review: The Blazing Tree

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Blazing Tree     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Mary Jo Adamson
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical   Religious Fiction
Signet, Jun 2000, $5.99, 272 pp.

In the nineteenth century, Jasper Quincey, publisher of the Boston newspaper The Independent, summons his police news reporter Michael Merrick to his Cambridge home. Jasper provides background material about the series of arson and the lifestyle of the Shakers. Next, he assigns Michael with investigating the questionable fires that led to the death of an octogenarian Shaker in Western Massachusetts.

Michael heads to the western side of the Commonwealth to make inquiries among the residents of Hancock Shaker Village. Although Michael knows that religion is not his bailiwick, he realizes that somehow he must infiltrate the sect to learn what is going on inside the village because no one will simply cooperate otherwise. Inside, Michael surprises himself by finding the Shakers way of life appealing and interesting. Having lived on the uglier side of Boston, Michael comprehends that even this little Eden has a dangerous snake whose antics are turning more dangerous by the moment. Knowing he has quite a story, Michael only has to live long enough to tell it.

THE BLAZING TREE is an exciting historical mystery that places its emphasis on the depths of history rather than on the who-done-it. The story line is crisp and fast-paced although some subplots never fully tie back to the main tale. Michael is an intriguing character whose years on the streets eating opium have carved edges into his personality. The mystery is fun, but it is the nineteenth century tidbits, not all obvious (for instance Quincey and opium eating), that make Mary Jo Adamson’s a delightful glimpse at a bygone era.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

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