Note: The date of this feature has been changed from the one posted originally.
https://edithmaxwell.com/books/quaker-midwife-mysteries/The Agatha-winning historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries feature unconventional Quaker midwife Rose Carroll in late 1880s Amesbury, Massachusetts. The Quaker poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier is a character in the series.
Charity’s Burden won an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel! This is the fourth nomination for this series. The Malice Domestic 2020 conference was cancelled, but voting took place virtually. Edith will be awarded her Agatha teapot and have her win celebrated at next year’s conference in North Bethesda.
The books:
Taken Too SoonIn Taken Too Soon (September, 2020), Quaker midwife Rose Carroll’s maiden aunt calls Rose to Cape Cod with her new husband when Tillie’s teenage ward is found dead. Rose and David’s modest honeymoon turns into a murder investigation. A Native American midwife and her family are among the suspects, as is David’s own brother. With the help of the local detective, Rose digs in the shifting sands of the case until the murderer is revealed. Preorder now so you don’t miss it!
“This book is not to be missed!” -Judi, Goodreads reviewer
Judge Thee NotQuaker midwife Rose Carroll must fight bias and blind assumptions to clear the name of a friend when a murderer strikes in nineteenth-century Massachusetts in Judge Thee Not (September, 2019). Rose Carroll is certain her friend Bertie is innocent of murdering a judgmental society matron. Rose enlists the help of a blind pregnant client—who’s endured her own share of prejudice—to help her sift through the clues. As the two uncover a slew of suspects tied to financial intrigues, illicit love, and an age-old grudge over perceived wrongs, Rose knows she’ll have to bring all her formidable intelligence to bear on solving the crime. Because circumstantial evidence can loom large in small minds, and she fears her friend will soon become the victim of a grave injustice.
Through Quaker Rose Carroll’s resourceful sleuthing—and her midwifery—we are immediately immersed in the fascinating peculiarities, tensions and secrets of small-town life in late-19th-century Amesbury. —Susanna Calkins, author of the award-winning Lucy Campion Mysteries and the Speakeasy Mysteries
Charity's BurdenCharity’s Burden released in April, 2019 and won the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel in 2020. The winter of 1889 is harsh in Amesbury, Massachusetts, but it doesn’t stop Quaker midwife Rose Carroll from making the rounds to her pregnant and postpartum mothers. When Charity Skells dies from an apparent early miscarriage, the symptoms don’t match the diagnosis. Charity’s husband may be up to no good with a young woman whose mother appears to offer illegal abortions. A disgraced physician in town does the same, and Charity’s cousin seems to have a nefarious agenda. Rose and police detective Kevin Donovan race against time to solve the case before another innocent life is taken. Find book club questions here.
Murder poses difficult challenges for a compassionate 19th-century Quaker midwife in Massachusetts. Plenty of suspects keep the pot bubbling…Because [Rose Carroll’s] actions are motivated by her faith, she won’t let threats keep her from doing the right thing as she seeks the truth. -Kirkus
Turning the TideTurning the Tide, the third book in the series, released in 2018. Excitement runs high during Presidential election week in 1888. The Woman Suffrage Association plans a demonstration and Quaker midwife Rose Carroll resolves to join the protest. When she finds the body of the association’s leader the next morning, she’s drawn into delivering more than babies. Rose’s own life is threatened more than once as she sorts out killer from innocent. Turning the Tide was a 2019 Agatha Award nominee for Best Historical Novel. Find book club questions here.
Edith Maxwell has hit all my buttons again with this one, history, women’s history in particular, a strong main character and well rounded supporting characters. We see grief, anger, fear and love, everything you expect in a normal life and it is all interwoven into a brilliant story. – A Wytch’s Book Review
Called to JusticeCalled to Justice released in April, 2017. Rose Carroll is enjoying the 1888 Independence Day evening fireworks with her beau when a teenaged Quaker mill girl is found shot dead. After a former slave and fellow Quaker is accused of the murder, Rose delves into the crime, convinced of the man’s innocence. An ill-mannered mill manager, an Irish immigrant, and the victim’s young boyfriend come under suspicion even as Rose’s future with her handsome doctor suitor becomes unsure. The book was a 2018 Agatha Award nominee for Best Historical Novel.
Delivering the TruthDelivering the Truth launched the series in 2016. Midwife Rose Carroll becomes a suspect and then a sleuth in two cases of murder. Can Rose’s strengths as a counselor and problem solver help bring the murderers to justice before they destroy the town’s carriage industry and the people who run it? The book won the IPPY Silver Medal for mystery, was nominated for both a Macavity and an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel, and was named Amesbury, MA’s 2016 All-Community Read.