The Midwife and the Assassin: A Midwife Mystery (The Midwife's Tale Book 4)

In the tradition of Arianna Franklin and C. J. Sansom comes Samuel Thomas's remarkable debut, The Midwife's Tale It is 1644, and Parliament's armies have risen against the King and laid siege to the city of York. Even as the city suffers at the rebels' hands, midwife Bridget Hodgson becomes embroiled in a different sort of rebellion. One of Bridget's friends, Esther Cooper, has been convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to be burnt alive. Convinced that her friend is innocent, Bridget sets out to find the real killer. Bridget joins forces with Martha Hawkins, a servant who's far more skilled with a knife than any respectable woman ought to be. To save Esther from the stake, they must dodge rebel artillery, confront a murderous figure from Martha's past, and capture a brutal killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. The investigation takes Bridget and Martha from the homes of the city's most powerful families to the...

"Sam Thomas has created one of the most unique sleuths in modern mystery fiction." -The Plain Dealer

In this thrilling new mystery from the critically acclaimed author of The Witch Hunter's Tale midwife Bridget Hodgson travels to London where she's forced into a new profession-as a spy.

It's 1649. Three years have passed since midwife Bridget Hodgson and her deputy Martha Hawkins fled York for the safety of the English countryside. But when a mysterious letter from London brings them to the capital, they are forced into service under Jonathan Marlowe, Oliver Cromwell's chief spymaster. Reunited with Bridget's nephew Will, the three seek out Parliament's enemies even as the nation awaits the trial of the King on charges of treason.

Marlowe's first mission for Bridget is to spy upon Katherine Chidley, a notorious political radical and-Marlowe fears-a potential rebel against Parliament. The more time Bridget spends with Katherine, however, the closer the two become, and when Katherine's husband Daniel is murdered, Bridget and Martha join in the search for the killer. As the two uncover Daniel's secrets, the list of suspects grows ever longer, until it includes royalists, radicals, and a figure from Bridget's past, who is equal parts mysterious and deadly. When the killer strikes again, Bridget and Martha realize that he is bent on far more than mere murder, but intends to revive the civil wars or destroy England entirely.

""Sam Thomas has created one of the most unique sleuths in modern mystery fiction."--The Plain Dealer. In this thrilling new mystery from the critically acclaimed author of The Witch Hunter's Tale, midwife Bridget Hodgson travels to London where she's forced into a new profession-as a spy. It's 1649. Three years have passed since midwife Bridget Hodgson and her deputy Martha Hawkins fled York for the safety of the English countryside. But when a mysterious letter from London brings them to the capital, they are forced into service under Jonathan Marlowe, Oliver Cromwell's chief spymaster. Reunited with Bridget's nephew Will, the three seek out Parliament's enemies even as the nation awaits the trial of the King on charges of treason. Marlowe's first mission for Bridget is to spy upon Katherine Chidley, a notorious political radical and-Marlowe fears-a potential rebel against Parliament. The more time Bridget spends with Katherine, however, the closer the two become, and when Katherine's husband Daniel is murdered, Bridget and Martha join in the search for the killer. As the two uncover Daniel's secrets, the list of suspects grows ever longer, until it includes royalists, radicals, and a figure from Bridget's past, who is equal parts mysterious and deadly. When the killer strikes again, Bridget and Martha realize that he is bent on far more than mere murder, but intends to revive the civil wars or destroy England entirely"-- Provided by publisher ""Sam Thomas has created one of the most unique sleuths in modern mystery fiction." -The Plain Dealer. In this thrilling new mystery from the critically acclaimed author of The Witch Hunter's Tale, midwife Bridget Hodgson travels to London where she's forced into a new profession-as a spy. It's 1649. Three years have passed since midwife Bridget Hodgson and her deputy Martha Hawkins fled York for the safety of the English countryside. But when a mysterious letter from London brings them to the capital, they are forced into service under Jonathan Marlowe, Oliver Cromwell's chief spymaster. Reunited with Bridget's nephew Will, the three seek out Parliament's enemies even as the nation awaits the trial of the King on charges of treason. Marlowe's first mission for Bridget is to spy upon Katherine Chidley, a notorious political radical and-Marlowe fears-a potential rebel against Parliament. The more time Bridget spends with Katherine, however, the closer the two become, and when Katherine's husband Daniel is murdered, Bridget and Martha join in the search for the killer. As the two uncover Daniel's secrets, the list of suspects grows ever longer, until it includes royalists, radicals, and a figure from Bridget's past, who is equal parts mysterious and deadly. When the killer strikes again, Bridget and Martha realize that he is bent on far more than mere murder, but intends to revive the civil wars or destroy England entirely"-- Provided by publisher "Sam Thomas has created one of the most unique sleuths in modern mystery fiction." - The Plain Dealer In this thrilling new mystery from the critically acclaimed author of The Witch Hunter's Tale midwife Bridget Hodgson travels to London where she's forced into a new profession - as a spy. It's 1649. Three years have passed since midwife Bridget Hodgson and her deputy Martha Hawkins fled York for the safety of the English countryside. But when a mysterious letter from London brings them to the capital, they are forced into service under Jonathan Marlowe, Oliver Cromwell's chief spymaster. Reunited with Bridget's nephew Will, the three seek out Parliament's enemies even as the nation awaits the trial of the King on charges of treason. Marlowe's first mission for Bridget is to spy upon Katherine Chidley, a notorious political radical and-Marlowe fears-a potential rebel against Parliament. The more time Bridget spends with Katherine, however, the closer the two become, and when Katherine's husband Daniel is murdered, Bridget and Martha join in the search for the killer. As the two uncover Daniel's secrets, the list of suspects grows ever longer, until it includes royalists, radicals, and a figure from Bridget's past, who is equal parts mysterious and deadly. When the killer strikes again, Bridget and Martha realize that he is bent on far more than mere murder, but intends to revive the civil wars or destroy England entirely. In the tradition of Arianna Franklin and C.J. Sansom comes Samuel Thomas's remarkable debut, The Midwife's Tale It is 1644, and Parliament's armies have risen against the King and laid siege to the city of York. Even as the city suffers at the rebels' hands, midwife Bridget Hodgson becomes embroiled in a different sort of rebellion. One of Bridget's friends, Esther Cooper, has been convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to be burnt alive. Convinced that her friend is innocent, Bridget sets out to find the real killer. Bridget joins forces with Martha Hawkins, a servant who's far more skilled with a knife than any respectable woman ought to be. To save Esther from the stake, they must dodge rebel artillery, confront a murderous figure from Martha's past, and capture a brutal killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. The investigation takes Bridget and Martha from the homes of the city's most powerful families to the alleyways of its poorest neighborhoods. As they delve into the life of Esther's murdered husband, they discover that his ostentatious Puritanism hid a deeply sinister secret life, and that far too often tyranny and treason go hand in hand