“Set in 1837, Fergus’s fine third Gideon Stoltz mystery (after 2021’s Nighthawk’s Wing) vividly recreates pre–Civil War tensions in the service of a gripping whodunit. . . . Fergus’s plotting matches his superior historical detail. This series merits a long run.” —Publishers Weekly

Lay This Body Down, the third Gideon Stoltz Mystery, takes place in 1837 during one of the most horrific periods in pre-Civil War America, when human beings were considered chattel and both northern and southern states grew rich from slave labor. A Pennsylvania sheriff like Gideon could choose to uphold the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 or defy that racist law at great peril. The life and times of an early American backwoods town and its hardscrabble citizens will grip readers as Gideon and his wife, True, solve a murder, bust a kidnapping ring, and help one unforgettable boy who courageously chooses freedom above all else.

In Praise of Lay This Body Down:

“Lay This Body Down isn’t just a wonderfully tangled mystery, it’s a window into a time when the nation’s soul was in doubt.”

—Scott Weidensaul, New York Times bestselling author of A World on the Wing

In Praise of A Stranger Here Below, the first Gideon Stoltz Mystery:

“Deeply imagined and intricately plotted, A Stranger Here Below marries richly textured historical fiction with the urgency of a mystery novel. Fergus knows certain things, deep in the bone: horses, hunting, the folkways of rural places, and he weaves this wisdom into a stirring tale.”

—Geraldine Brooks, author of March and People of the Book and Horse

In Praise of Nighthawk’s Wing, the second Gideon Stoltz Mystery:

“Set in 1836, Fergus’s superior sequel ... brings the period to life as he expertly melds setting and plot. Eleanor Kuhns fans will be pleased.”

—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Available February 2023