Agony Hill (Franklin Warren: Book 1) by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: August 6th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

Series: Franklin Warren

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a new historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor’s trademark.

In the hot summer of 1965, Bostonian Franklin Warren arrives in Bethany, Vermont, to take a position as a detective with the state police. Warren’s new home is on the verge of monumental change; the interstates under construction will bring new people, new opportunities, and new problems to Vermont, and the Cold War and protests against the war in Vietnam have finally reached the dirt roads and rolling pastures of Bethany.

Warren has barely unpacked when he’s called up to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Former New Yorker and Back-to-the-Lander Hugh Weber seems to have set fire to his barn and himself, with the door barred from the inside, but things aren’t adding up for Warren. The people of Bethany—from Weber’s enigmatic wife to Warren’s neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows — clearly have secrets they’d like to keep, but Warren can’t tell if the truth about Weber’s death is one of them. As he gets to know his new home and grapples with the tragedy that brought him there, Warren is drawn to the people and traditions of small town Vermont, even as he finds darkness amidst the beauty.

First Line

The day was hot and clear, the sky overhead a thick blue traced here and there with ragged wisps of stringy clouds that reminded Sylvie of the bloody scratches she got when pruning brambles.

Important details about Agony Hill

Pace: Slow but does pick up to medium by the end of the book.

POV: 3rd person (Warren, Alice, and Sylvie)

Series: Agony Hill is the 1st book in the Franklin Warren series.

Content/Trigger Guidance: Agony Hill contains themes that include homelessness, poverty, classism, sexism, misogyny, dubious consent scenario*, adult-minor relationships*, emotional abuse, alcoholism, alcohol consumption, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, blood, cancer*, dead bodies, death of a spouse, grief & loss depiction, death of a parent, fire & arson, gun violence, conscription*, war, murder, and animal cruelty. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Dubious Consent Scenario: Sylvie remembers her first sexual encounter with Hugh. She was pressured into having sex because it was her wedding night.
Adult-Minor Relationship: Hugh was thirty-five when he met and married Sylvie, who was in her mid-teens.
Cancer: Alice goes and visits a neighbor who is dying of cancer during her investigation into who stole bullets and framed a friend of hers.
Conscription: The draft is mentioned at various points during the book. Sylvie interacts with a young man who is a draft dodger.

Language: Agony Hill contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Agony Hill.

Setting: Agony Hill is set in 1965 in Bethany (a fictional city), Vermont.

My Review:

I enjoy reading police procedural novels. I have been reading quite a bit of them, and I am always fascinated by the work and time that goes into solving a case. My fascination grows even more when the book is set in the early days of forensic science. Agony Hill is one of those books.

I was also pleased to see that Agony Hill takes place in Vermont. I can count on one hand the number of books set there in the past year.

Agony Hill is the first book in the Franklin Warren series, but it can also be read as a standalone.

Agony Hill takes place in 1965, and the author mentions the Vietnam War and the draft. The author does explain in her note (at the beginning of the book) that she didn’t use the spelling that most small-town papers used for the war (they separated Vietnam into Viet Nam). She didn’t want to confuse people; I am happy she did that. I am also glad there weren’t too many scenes with anti-war protests (actually, there was a brief scene of a veteran marching against the war in the parade).

The main storyline of Agony Hill is centered on Warren (a recently hired detective from Massachusetts), Sylvie (the wife of the victim), and Alice (an amateur detective who is more than she seems). The book is slow. Usually, I’m not too fond of it when books start and stay slow, but in this case, it worked. It allowed me to digest the clues that Warren uncovers, try to figure out who Alice was and the motive behind Hugh being killed. It took me a long time to read, but I enjoyed it.

I have never read a book in which people were so happy to see someone die. I get that Hugh Weber was unlikable, but to have no one, not even his wife or children, mourn for him was a bit much. Of course, the more Warren uncovered about this unpleasant man, the more I could understand why people felt that way.

I liked the main characters (Warren and Sylvie). Each had a compelling backstory, which added mystery to the main storyline (Warren’s background and everything about Sylvie).

I do want to mention Alice. I loved her. She was the epitome of your busybody, widowed neighbor. However, as the author got into her background, it was surprising to discover that she was so much more. Alice has a lot of layers to her, and I feel that the author isn’t done yet with this character.

The mystery angle was well written. The author kept me on my toes about who killed Hugh and why. I had several suspects on my list but started mentally crossing them off as Warren began talking to people. I was shocked at what happened and even more surprised at what Warren did. But, having thought about it, it was the right call.

The end of Agony Hill was interesting. I liked how the author wrapped everything up, but I also liked how she left a little room for the next book. I have a feeling that Bethany, Vermont, is going to be a hopping place now that Warren is there.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Sarah Stewart Taylor for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Agony Hill. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Agony Hill, then you will enjoy these books: