Murder at Plimoth Plantation

Miranda Lewis Mysteries #1

by Leslie Wheeler

It's the week before Thanksgiving, and history textbook writer Miranda Lewis has deadlines to meet. But when a routine check-in call to her young niece ends in tears and a hang-up, Miranda hurries to Plimoth Plantation, where her niece works as an interpreter. At the recreated seventeenth-century village in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Miranda encounters protesting Indians, quarrelling Pilgrims, and tension aplenty. The day after her arrival, the explosive atmosphere turns violent when someone beheads the interpreter who portrays Miles Standish. With suspicion falling on her niece, over-heard arguing with the victim the night before, Miranda sets out to uncover the truth. Along the way she discovers more than she expected.

Genres: Mystery, Thanksgiving, Cozy Mystery

204 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Madeline Pelgrim · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of my book barn mystery bag of mysteries! Certainly not something I would pick out or recommend but I was modestly entertained.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half stars.

Read in one day. Enjoyed more than I expected. A bit too much unnecessary detail and too little plot at times, but overall enjoyable enough. I’d also say that parts of this book feel outdated. I have a hard time believing the lack of internet in 2001. We need to look up phone numbers in a phone book? I don’t think so. (Read for my mystery book club in an anticipation of a Sisters in Crime event.)

[Britt · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I read this only because it showed up as an Ebook recommendation from my library and I had just visited Plimouth Planatation. Pros: For people living in Massachusetts and who have visited the sites they talk about in the book, it has some appeal. The author incorporates some Plymouth and pilgrim history into it if you want a refresher. It is holiday-themed for this time of year. It is also an easy read. Cons: The story, like many cheap murder mysteries, the story is silly. The main character, Miranda, is kind of a sad lonely aunt who has an even sadder 18-year-old niece who is oddly childish for her age. Her niece is from CA and really wanted to work as a pilgrim in MA (which is weird), and while working, stumbles on another pilgrim actor who has been murdered. The aunt dives-in travelling all over MA to solve the mystery, which why and how is not feasible.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be disjointed and rambling. No empathy for any of the characters. I wanted to call Miranda an idiot on multiple occasions. I felt like I'd been dropped in midstream and should know everyone. Not one I can recommend.

[Missi Martin (Stockwell) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"He had to die'".... That is the very first sentence in Murder at Plimoth Plantation by Leslie Wheeler. That first sentence grabs the reader....how can you not want to continue reading the story to see who had to die and why. What lead to that sentence even being written ??
I, for one, had to read the story because I obviously had to know the answer and I am sure that I am not the only one that would read that sentence and have to continue. And boy does that first sentence take the reader down a road that will surprise and amaze them.
Miranda Lewis is the main character in Murder at Plimoth Plantation and after calling her niece, Caroline to check on her, she catches her in a disturbing mood but won't tell Miranda why. After sobbing and hanging up on her, Miranda has no other choice but to go to her and see for herself what is going on.
Caroline works as an interpreter and recreator of someone living on a planation during the seventeenth century. When Miranda shows up to talk to Caroline, Caroline says that she will talk to her during her break but disappears before that can happen. Miranda is on high alert now and just wants to talk to Caroline to see what is going on. Unfortunately before Miranda can get the full story from Caroline a co-worker of Caroline's is murdered and things point to Caroline as a suspect.
Miranda will do whatever it takes to find out the full story and prove her niece's innocence.....and will go down some dark roads and dwell into the past to get the answers she needs !!!
Wheeler will take the reader on a very captivating and mind blowing journey. It will amaze the reader as you get lost in the tale and will be thoroughly shocked to find out the story behind it all and you will be very shocked at how Miranda does it and with who !!!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historian Miranda Lewis' favorite niece, 18-year-0ld Caroline, is working as a first-person cultural interpreter. When Caroline calls in a minor state of crisis because of protestors around the historical site, Miranda decides to drive down from Boston for a visit.

Miranda knows some of Caroline's colleagues from her work as a historian, so she's reasonably certain that they'll be able to keep an eye on her once Miranda goes home. However, there is at least one man Miranda's age, Conor, who is not at all what he seems ... and Caroline's in love with him.

The day after a rather upsetting trivia game at a cast party, one of the interpreters is dead -- and his head is in Miranda's breadbasket. Miranda is determined to find out who the culprit might be ... and she starts with the trivia game ... and one of the protestors, Nate, is helping her along the way.

This is not what you'd call a fair play puzzle per se. The culprit is in sight the whole time, but the tie-in to "why" is somewhat out of left field. The historical documentation, and facts about what it's like to be a cultural interpreter, were fascinating ... and I enjoyed the story overall.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a check-in call to her niece yields worrisome concerns, Miranda Lewis heads to Plimoth Plantation where her niece is working as an interpreter. Upon arrival, she finds that everything is not joyful leading up to this Thanksgiving. There is unrest with the local Indian population, an undercurrent of tension throughout the interpreters, and crazy crowds running amok. Then everything comes to a head when one of the interpreters is killed and his head placed in her niece's basket. She, who had a rip-roaring argument with the deceased the night before, becomes the prime suspect. Miranda stays to try and help her niece out, but it seems that each avenue she explores comes to a dead end. Threatened, followed, lambasted, and impeded...nothing is going to prevent Miranda from finding the killer and exonerating her niece.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the third one first, by accident and enjoyed it so much that I went back and bought the first two in the series. You can tell that the author is a new author, in reading this book, but it was nice to see her growth between this book and the third book. She's an author that I'm going to keep an eye on; while these books are no great literary masterpiece, they are fun reads, quick and enjoyable, and that's just the ticket right now.

[Sharon Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

How fun to read Murder at Plimoth Plantation alongside Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower. Wheeler portrays both the history and the contemporary reenactments with accuracy, aside, of course, from murder. One word of warning: most characters have their fictional names and an historical name of one of the Pilgrims. Keeping a list would be helpful.

This is the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims. Treat yourself to a page-turning mystery along with a good dose of history.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this at the Boston Bookfest where the author rang up my purchases at the SistersInCrime (?) booth. This is a quick read that was written (per the forward) in the ‘90s, when cell phones and Internet Research weren’t ubiquitous and when the aftermath of the Vietnam War and its imprint was more recent. Several characters are touched by the latter. The author weaves through themes of the era and language of Plimoth Plantation where the story is set as the mystery is solved.

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this book up at a book sale. Was interested in reading it because I have visited the Plimoth Plantation on numerous visits. The description of the area was what kept me reading. The storyline became convoluted and was hard to follow in middle.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing and boring.

[Donna Peake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love stories based on the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving. They are somewhat hard to find.
I found this book a bit hard to follow and I really didn't care for the characters.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having visited Plymouth (and Plimoth Plantation Museum), I could tell the author was familiar with the settings and local flavor of the area, which added to the fun in reading it. An historian as amateur sleuth was an excellent choice for the book. The characters were colorful. I admit, I'm one of those who is fascinated by the historical interpreters who portray the Plimoth colonists. Are they primarily actors, or historians? Equal parts of both? This book gives an imaginary entry into their lives, and I've often wondered what the historical interpreters themselves think of Ms. Wheeler's portrayal of them (certainly a few of them have read the book). There are enough red herrings in here to make for a good-paced classic cozy mystery. I read the paperback edition, and was glad to see the digital edition now available. I have not read any others from this series, but this book was entertaining enough to make me interested in doing so. I gave away the paperback to a friend when I was done, and now I'm sorry I did. I rarely read a mystery twice, but I'd make an exception for this one. So I hope my friend enjoyed the book, and passed it along to someone else.

[Cindy White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It is fiction but you can tell the author did her homework. I have a very good friend that lives in Plymoth and have been to Plimoth Plantation many times. As the author described certain things in and around the Plantation, my memory went there and I could picture it. It was very interesting that it was all about the "Interperters" and one of my missions when I go there is to mess them up and try to talk modern day, and I can tell you I have never succeded! They should all be applauded! The book also shows how they might get caught up in character in their normal lives which I believe could truely happen. I believe people that have actually been to the Plantation would appreciate the book more, but then again, if you have never been there it probably would like it to be on your "Bucket List"

[Beth Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost gave up on this book halfway through, but I'm glad I stuck with it. I felt like it picked up in the last third. I liked the sense of the region more than the portrayal of the specific Plimoth site. I also liked that it's set around Thanksgiving, with NO Christmas spillover, and I liked getting a sense of Thanksgiving from an American Indian point of view.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 On the short side and a quick read. There were a few cringe-worthy moments, but overall it was a light read that would hold the interest mostly of someone who likes mysteries and has visited (or has some other interest in) Plimoth Plantation itself.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terrible. But amusing if you worked there.

[Chazzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, with interesting and developed characters. The various story lines are woven together to make a complete story. There are some surprises and suspense to keep you going.

[Diana Petty-stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good who-done-it!! Good plot and interesting characters.

[Booknblues · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining mystery set in Plymouth MA at Plimouth Plantation where history is re-enacted.

[April Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

cute book