Blood Red Roses

Rating:
Summary: Even better than "Hearts and Bones"!
Review: "Blood Red Roses" surpasses the first book in the series. The novel wonderfully evokes the era in great detail. All the characters, even Hannah's daughter Jennet, grow more complex--and the (dark) passions that impel them are touching. The mystery itself was subtly plotted--I couldn't figure out "whodunnit" until almost the end, and even then I wasn't certain about the motive.

I found myself crying at one point in the story 'cause I was overwhelmed by how much cruelty Hannah faces. Here is a woman who toils to heal the townspeople, yet they consistently insult and demean her. How precarious was the position of women then.

What I admire the most about Lawrence's stories is how sympathetically she portrays her characters. They may do terrible things, but Lawrence reveals how they're not simply monsters. It's the poverty and desperation of the time that causes them to enact cruelty.

I must say that sadness pervades throughout the narrative. This is an excellent novel, but a dark one at that.

Rating:
Summary: Such Beautiful Writing...
Review: I discovered this book quite by accident. My mom is a huge mystery fan, but she didn't really get into Blood Red Roses. One day I got bored and for lack of any other, I picked up this book. Honestly, it shocked me with its beauty. It has wonderful historical detail and characters so vivid you're ready to swear they existed. Another great thing was I could read this book without having read Hearts and Bones, its predecessor, though I would recommend starting at the beginning of the series.

The story is really wonderful. Hannah Trevor is a midwife in a small Maine town in 1786. Her loyalist husband ran off to Canada and apparently died there. But Hannah finds love in the arms of Major Daniel Josselyn, a quiet man with a scarred past, a stunning inner strength...and an ailing wife. What everyone knows is that Daniel is the father of Hannah's daughter Jennet. But when a murder rocks the small town, a murder to which mute Jennet is the only witness, everyone's faith is tested. Hannah has to fight for her rights as a woman in the 1700s as well as justice for a man she had long thought dead using all her skills as a healer and all her stubborn intelligence.

The prose style of this novel is haunting. The narratives are intense and revealling and faultlessly detailed. Hannah is a woman of uncommon strength, a very well drawn character. Daniel is skillfully done, torn, confused and hypnotic and also one of my all-time favorites. Little Jennet's narratives are fascinating, too. I also loved the portrayal of Charlotte Josselyn. It was so well done, one can't help but wish her well.

I would suggest anyone who is a fan of mystery and/or historical fiction should read this book. It's wonderful and completely unforgettable.

Rating:
Summary: Such Beautiful Writing...
Review: I discovered this book quite by accident. My mom is a huge mystery fan, but she didn't really get into Blood Red Roses. One day I got bored and for lack of any other, I picked up this book. Honestly, it shocked me with its beauty. It has wonderful historical detail and characters so vivid you're ready to swear they existed. Another great thing was I could read this book without having read Hearts and Bones, its predecessor, though I would recommend starting at the beginning of the series.

The story is really wonderful. Hannah Trevor is a midwife in a small Maine town in 1786. Her loyalist husband ran off to Canada and apparently died there. But Hannah finds love in the arms of Major Daniel Josselyn, a quiet man with a scarred past, a stunning inner strength...and an ailing wife. What everyone knows is that Daniel is the father of Hannah's daughter Jennet. But when a murder rocks the small town, a murder to which mute Jennet is the only witness, everyone's faith is tested. Hannah has to fight for her rights as a woman in the 1700s as well as justice for a man she had long thought dead using all her skills as a healer and all her stubborn intelligence.

The prose style of this novel is haunting. The narratives are intense and revealling and faultlessly detailed. Hannah is a woman of uncommon strength, a very well drawn character. Daniel is skillfully done, torn, confused and hypnotic and also one of my all-time favorites. Little Jennet's narratives are fascinating, too. I also loved the portrayal of Charlotte Josselyn. It was so well done, one can't help but wish her well.

I would suggest anyone who is a fan of mystery and/or historical fiction should read this book. It's wonderful and completely unforgettable.

Rating:
Summary: Kept me up all night
Review: I fell in love with historical mysteries starting w/Anne Perry. Suddenly there are quite a few series and each of them have their strengths. I enjoyed Margaret Lawrence's first book enough to buy the second. From the outset, I found myself once again unable to piece together enough of the clues that were under my nose to solve the mystery until almost the end. I enjoy the characters, who are well written and not anachronistic at all. I also find myself appalled at the hardships of a time period that has been far too romanticized. I know I will continue with this series and strongly recommend it to anyone who can take the time out of their busy day (and night) to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Dark and deeply satisfying.
Review: Intriguing characters, an unusual historical setting and complex plotting make Blood Red Roses a fitting follow-up to Margaret Lawrence's Hearts and Bones. In the difficult years following the Revolutionary War, midwife and Royalist widow Hannah Trevor struggles to keep her deaf-mute daughter from being taken from her and indentured as a servant. Few novels deal with the post-revolutionary era, when many were disillusioned with the way their new country was developing, and former Patriots faced losing their land or were threatened with debtors' prison under new tax codes. Many middle-class Tories who had fled to England or Canada were returning home and attempting to reestablish themselves in the new United States. The Maine village of Rufford is still reeling from the divisions of war and many cruel memories are awakened when a woman and her children are murdered. Conclusions jump to Hannah, who, with her Tory connections and illegitimate child, has few defenses. Can she clear herself or must she leave? And what of her daughter's father, the man she loves but cannot have? Margaret Lawrence has created conflicted, appealing characters, surrounded them with rich historical detail and the result is a tremendously satisfying book that can be enjoyed as a mystery, historical fiction or romantic suspense. Developments in the relationship between Hannah and the man she loves makes Blood Red Roses very different from Hearts and Bones and promises that the next book (please let there be one!) will have new pleasures to offer.

Rating:
Summary: Hearts and Bones remake
Review: Lacks originality - take "Hearts and Bones" throw in some new character names, add another "mentally unstable" chracter and presto - you have this book.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to read
Review: Since there's no 5+ button, I have to type out how wonderful I think this book is. I was hooked on Hannah Trevor, the Maine midwife in post-revolutionary times, after the first book, Hearts and Bones. Not only did Margaret Lawrence capture with compassion and accuracy the life experiences of a midwife in the wilderness, she managed to construct a fairly suspenseful mystery. While Hearts and Bones was as good as any Anne Perry novel, Blood Red Roses is simply magnificent in plot, detail, and narrative.

In this second book Hannah discovers the fate of the husband she has long thought dead. This brings her into the eye of the storm in Rufford, and the simmering animosities of the community are directed at her. There are also developments in the life of her deaf and mute daughter Jennet, and in her passion for Ralph Josselin, a married landowner. For anyone who has ever loved deeply this book is just riveting since you can feel Hannah's bottled-up feelings bursting from every page. A taut, satisfying, and mystifying sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Hearts and Bones remake
Review: This book is the first I have read by Margaret Lawrence, and it was incredibly hard to understand. The characters were unbelieveable. I had a huge problem toward understanding some of the phrases she wrote. There was not very much romance and/or suspense in it anyway. I definitely will not read "Hearts and Bones."

Rating:
Summary: Take a long walk in Hannah Trevor's shoes
Review: Those who have read Hearts and Bones, the first novel in the series, will already know that Hannah Trevor is one of those haunting characters you simply cannot get out of your mind. Strong and wounded, fearful and brave, she is a walking bundle of contradictions, anger, and tenderness.

Reading one of Margaret Lawrence's novels about Trevor is like taking a long walk in an 18th century Maine midwife's shoes. The walk is not always pleasant, but it is always rewarding and fascinating. In this second novel, we begin by learning the fate of Hannah's long-gone husband James Trevor, a British sympathizer in the War for Independence. This news shocks Rufford to its core, and stirs up the barely controlled anger of the community. The news of James is accompanied by the gruesome murder of a poor family, and soon Hannah Trevor is the leading suspect. It is only with the help of her lover, Daniel Josselyn, that Hannah is exonerated from the suspicion that she is a murderer.

Lawrence knows her subject well, and conveys it with a passion and feeling that are remarkable. I wept and I rejoiced with Hannah during this novel, which I literally could not put down. Treat yourself to a wonderful weekend with this extraordinary midwife--you will not be disappointed.