In an inspired marketing strategy, Sarah Stewart Taylor has released “Mud Season,” a free short story prequel to her upcoming new series launch, Agony Hill. Designed to introduce readers to the setting, time period, and characters that will feature in Agony Hill, “Mud Season” wastes no time in hooking the reader’s interest and leaves them craving more.
With the thaw of the impending Spring hitting Bethany, Vermont, the ground grows ever muddier. It’s not unusual for cars to get stuck on the dirt roads, but when one of those abandoned cars has Pennsylvania license plates, town busy-body Alice Bellows can’t shake the feeling that there is more to the story.
Using her contacts with the police, repair shop, and church, Alice begins piecing together the puzzle of just whose car that is and why there is no driver, registration, or keys anywhere to be found. Is someone lost in the woods in need of help? Or is the small town of Bethany in danger from this outsider?
Sarah Stewart Taylor is no stranger to crafting characters that readers bond with. Both Sweeney St. George and Maggie D’arcy from her two existing series are fan favorites. Be prepared to add Alice Bellows to that list. She’s spirited, inquisitive, determined, and just the right amount of annoying (more so to the police, than to the reader). She’s a widow whose husband may or may not have been a government spy, so her skill at gathering town gossip seems unparalleled.
The town of Bethany, Vermont is fascinating and the people who live there seem like a quirky bunch which has the potential to make them as beloved as the residents of Three Pines. There’s even some hints at the end of the story about a new detective moving to town, which is sure to create conflict with our amateur sleuth, Alice.
As always, Sarah Stewart Taylor’s writing is engaging, with a style the reader can easily settle into like the most comfortable chair in the room. Using the metaphor of being stuck in mud to allude to the overall feelings of being trapped and pulled under by the stresses of life is also a very successful literary technique that elevates this short story.
Unlike her other two series, Agony Hill (and “Mud Season”) are historical mysteries. The 1960s are a time of upheaval and allowing readers to watch as those social changes reach the more rural parts of America will be most interesting to witness.
Grab a free copy of “Mud Season” today and look for the release of Agony Hill in early August.
BUY LINKS: “Mud Season” and Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor
