I assure you that I did not take offense when on page 182 of Irene Allen’s murder-mystery, Quaker Testimony, the question is asked, in effect, “How would you feel if your sister married an Army officer?” Here’s why:
This story is woven around the strong Quaker conviction that war must be resisted. As a former Marine enlisted man and a career Air Force officer, I can find no fault with that. I feel strongly that these Quaker ideals are exactly the ideals that deserve defending. The problem, as revealed in this story, is that not all Quakers agree on what form war resistance must take. In that setting, a murder has occurred. A war tax protester has been brutally shot to death, and it is probable that the killer is among the faithful.
The unlikely protagonist, Friend Elizabeth Elliot, is relentless in her desire to protect the blameless. And she has unlimited opportunity, as many potential suspects begin to appear among the gentle Quaker congregation. Even Elizabeth is a suspect. What Elizabeth soon learns is that to protect the innocent she must establish the guilt of someone, probably someone close to her. Irene Allen, the author, is aware of the requirement in all homicide investigations to firmly establish means, motive, and opportunity. Therefore, this clever author sends Friend Elizabeth into the investigation well armed with facts, clues, time lines, and forensic evidence. You can take it from me, this Friend is no slouch. She tests each and every presumption in her obliging pursuit of Quaker justice.
Read this book. Thee will love it.
Irene Allen, by the way, is the pen-name of E. Kirsten Peters, who, when she’s not writing murder-mysteries, teaches geology at Washington State University. Quaker Testimony is the third in a series which also includes Quaker Silence, Quaker Witness, and Quaker Indictment.
Robert E. Armstrong is the author of two veterinary mystery/thrillers, Canis and Index of Suspicion, reviewed in this issue.