Red coat soldier and criminal investigator Michael Stoddard has landed himself in a pickle in the first American Revolutionary War Thriller installment, Regulated for Murder by Suzanne Adair. Stoddard must dress in plain clothes before making his way to Hillsborough, N.C., to deliver a vital dispatch to Cornwallis, and he must not let on that he is a British soldier. He’s less than pleased by his new assignment as he was attempting to close in on Bowater, who is accused of defrauding two men. Stoddard assumes the name of Compton after stumbling upon a murder scene in a town not loyal to the British and being surrounded by lawmen and residents who are very suspicious of strangers. Quickly, he’s rescued from certain jail time by his “cousin,” Kate, just as he is recruited by the town’s German sheriff Schmidt to find the killer of a local man. What transpires is a criminal investigation wrought with danger at nearly every turn, which set during another time period might be perceived as a little too much. However, given the American revolutionary time period in question when loyalties were tested and retested, Adair handles the investigation and interactions with a town full of former Regulators and those who opposed them carefully.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2013/05/regulated-for-murder-by-suzanne-adair.html ( )

Latest in Suzanne Adair's loosely related and well-researched series set in the South during the American Revolution. It is late in the war, and Michael Stoddard, a British soldier, has been pulled off his criminal investigation of Wilmington resident to find Lord Cornwallis and the Army to warn them that Cross Creek did not contain the military supplies Cornwallis needs and expects. He arrives in Hillsboro to find his contact has just been murdered and his house torn apart. The sheriff, not knowing who Michael is, but liking his logical mind, tells Michael to solve the murder or else. Meanwhile the woman Michael is strongly attracted to is in town visiting her aunt and of necessity becomes drawn into helping Michael since she knows his real identity.

The book is long, but draws the reader in and goes surprisingly quickly, leaving one to come up for air and be reminded one does not actually live in North Carolina and the time is not the 18th century. Adair is a reenactor, explaining how she is able to write so convincingly and realistically. Highly recommended. ( )