Regulated for Murder
Bearing a dispatch from his commander in coastal Wilmington, North Carolina, redcoat Lieutenant Michael Stoddard arrives in Hillsborough in February 1781 in civilian garb. He expects to hand a letter to a courier working for Lord Cornwallis, then ride back to Wilmington the next day. Instead, Michael is greeted by the courier’s freshly murdered corpse, a chilling trail of clues leading back to an execution ten years earlier, and a sheriff with a fondness for framing innocents—and plans to deliver Michael up to his nemesis, a psychopathic British officer.
(102,000 words; available as ebook and print)
a Suspense Magazine “Best of 2011” book
“This is mystery writing at its best.” — Great Historicals
“With a few deft strokes, [Adair] re-creates a time when the world was lit by a few candles and traveling from Wilmington to Hillsborough…took five grueling days on horseback.” — The Wilmington Star-News
“One of the most original and captivating historical mysteries I’ve read in a long time, if ever. I felt completely transported to another time and place.” — Kaylee Stevens, Shelfari reader
For ten years, an execution hid murder. Then Michael Stoddard came to town.
