Book Review: The Sea Hath Spoken

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Sea Hath Spoken     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Stephen Lewis
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical   Amateur Sleuth
Berkley Prime Crime, Jan 2001, $5.99, 288 pp.

In Newbury, New England, Indian Massaquoit finds sea gulls eating the remains of a dead man. The captain of the nearby ship Good Hope owned by local resident Catherine Williams, who is also Massaquoit's employer, identifies the corpse as a sailor. The townsfolk wonder if Billy Lockhart drowned from too much to drink or did one of those traveling Quakers kill him?

Attending the Puritan religious services are two Quaker siblings, Roger and Jane Whitcomb as guests of Catherine. During the service, Roger takes exception to a comment by Minister Davis. Soon, a glove his shoved down the visitor's throat leaving him choking to death. Massaquoit saves Roger's life. However, not long afterward, someone succeeds in killing Roger. Though she rejected his beliefs, Catherine takes it personally that someone murdered her guest. She begins her own inquiries.

THE SEA HATH SPOKEN is a tremendous Colonial mystery that deserves a wide readership. The story line is well written, as seventeenth century life in New England seems so vividly alive. The who-done-it is fun and Catherine is quite the heroine. With a powerful support cast augmenting the plot with an insider's look at the times, Stephen Lewis hath spoken and readers will appreciate this tale and other novels (see THE BLIND IN THE DARKNESS and THE DUMB SHALL SING) in this superb series

Harriet Klausner

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