The Midwife and the Assassin

Starred review from January 25, 2016
Midwife Bridget Hodgson has been leading a dull life on her estate in Hereford since the events of 2015’s The Witch Hunter’s Tale. Now in her excellent fourth outing, set in the late 1640s, Bridget receives a letter stating that Will, her beloved nephew, is being held prisoner in the Tower of London. Bridget rushes to Will’s rescue, only to learn that his continued wellbeing hinges on her cooperation with Jonathan Marlowe, Oliver Cromwell’s spymaster. Marlowe insists that Bridget move to London and set up trade in Cheapside so that she can infiltrate a group of revolutionaries known as the Levellers. Katherine Chidley, one of the Levellers’ leaders, is also a midwife, and Marlowe believes that Bridget will be able to gain her confidence. The mission ends up involving multiple murder investigations, played out as Parliament decides the final fate of Charles I. Thomas expertly integrates the tumult of the time into a fair-play mystery. Agent: Josh Getzler, Hannigan Salky Getzler.

January 15, 2016
A midwife is a most reluctant recruit for Oliver Cromwell's ruthless spymaster. Lady Bridget Hodgson (The Midwife's Tale, 2013, etc.) has fled her enemies in York only to be bored senseless by life on her country estate. Also less than pleased with country life are her spirited adopted daughter, Elizabeth, and her confidante, maidservant, and assistant midwife, Martha Hawkins. When a message comes from London telling them that Bridget's nephew Will, Martha's former betrothed, is imprisoned in the Tower of London, Bridget and Martha set off for London, leaving a furious Elizabeth behind. Upon their arrival, they find that Mr. Marlowe and his attractive assistant, Col. Reynolds, want them to spy for Cromwell, who's still fighting a war of sorts against both the Royalists and the Levellers, who want freedom and equality for everyone, even women. Bridget poses as a poor widow come to town to work as a midwife, takes meager rooms in Cheapside, and befriends Katherine Chidley, another midwife who's a force in the Levellers. When Katherine's husband, Daniel, is murdered, Marlowe wants Bridget, assisted by Martha, Reynolds, and Will, to find his killer. Bridget soon becomes involved in both the hunt for a pitiless killer and the convoluted English politics of 1649, which pit family and friends against each other in the struggle for the heart of the country. Thomas supplies an informed look at the English civil war from the viewpoint of everyday people while providing a mystery filled with red herrings and a surprising denouement.

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February 15, 2016
The fourth in Thomas' excellent Midwife series once again plunges the reader into England's civil war, a period rife with bloody plots. The character of the midwife, Bridget Hodgson, is based on an actual gentlewoman midwife in seventeenth-century York. Using this character as a sleuth, a woman who has both monetary resources and entry into the homes of rich and poor through her midwifery role, is a brilliant stroke on Thomas' part. In the latest, set in 1649, Bridget and her deputy, Martha Hawkins, are coerced into serving Cromwell's spymaster, Jonathon Marlowe. Bridget's mission is to infiltrate an anti-Cromwell group called the Levellers by working undercover in London's Cheapside. The story gains even more intensity when the head of the household that Bridget has infiltrated is murdered and the wife (now Bridget's friend) seeks her help. Thomas catches readers up on historical events in a very clear and unobtrusive way. Fascinating details (like the fact that goldsmiths' businesses suffered during Cromwell's sway) abound. As gripping as the previous three Midwife mysteries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)