Book Review: “Cry of the Innocent” by Julie Bates

Cry of the Innocent

Faith is an inn keeper in Williamsburg in 1774. Revolutionary mumblings are in the air, Boston is suffering from the aftermath of their Tea Party, but Faith has more immediate concerns. One of her regulars, Phineas Bullard, has been murdered, a regular to whom she owed a lot of money, a nasty man with a lot of enemies. The Sons of Liberty had left their calling card in the form of a banner by the corpse. The initial suspect, Stella, the slave of the victim, has run away and is captured by a lynch mob and only saved from said lynch mob by a gallant British Captain, Stephen Grant. The book starts well plunging the reader straight into the mystery as to who killed Phineas Bullard, a wealthy storekeeper involved in the shady practice of capturing and reselling freed slaves. Shortly after the murder there is a fire at the inn, burning the room of the murder. So we have a lot of action at the start. Faith is keen to solve the mystery as not only she but also her slaves Olivia and Titus could well be suspects and the murder is bad for business. But the pacing is odd for a murder mystery after a dramatic beginning, Faith makes almost no progress on solving the mystery until 80% into the book. There is a lot of historical detail and the Wiliamsburg of 1774 is brought to life. We also get a lot about how the owning of slaves grates with Faith’s Quaker beliefs, the slaves were a present from her late husband’s family and now with her husband gone, she would like to free them but lacks the means, and even freed Virginia is not a safe place for African Americans with those like Phineas Bullard and his ilk looking to make a quick profit from human cargo.

This was an enjoyable read, the character of Faith was well drawn but I’d have liked more development of secondary characters like the printer’s indentured servant, Will MacKay and Faith’s difficult mother-in-law Eugenia. The historical detail appears authentic, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have cameo roles, when they meet up in the inn with Faith’s father-in-law, Ezra. The book feels like the opening of a series with more to follow as the Revolution becomes more widespread.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

My rating 4 out of 5