ABIGAIL TRENCH by Randy Overbeck
Fiction, Historical Fiction
5*****
BLURB: vivid, propulsive Revolutionary-era thriller with the spy-craft verve of the streaming hit TURN: Washington’s Spies and the electricity of 1776’s New York that Hamilton lovers will recognize, this story is inspired by the lone female operative in Washington’s spy ring. In occupied New York, a schoolteacher with everything to lose turns information into a weapon, threading between Redcoats and rebels as plots against Washington gather steam. After rogue Redcoats assault her and strip her family’s Long Island farm, Abigail Trench fights to survive in New York City—tutoring in a high-ranking British officer’s Water Street household by day, navigating taverns, informants, and soldiers by night. Through Abigail’s keen eyes—and a counter-narrative following a principled British major—the novel renders the moral gray zones of occupation with gritty intimacy. As rumors swirl of a strike at General Washington, Abigail’s vantage inside upper-crust parlors and rough waterfront rooms makes her an ideal courier—and a target. This historical thriller delivers high tension, textured world-building, and a captivating heroine who put it all on the line for freedom.
THOUGHTS: I love this author’s works. This was a very different one for him as far as what I’ve read before, but it was as well done as his other books. It is definitely well-researched and the world-building puts us right there – including the noxious smells of the era. I loved how he created the characters and made them human. Not all redcoats were bad and not all rebels were good patriots. The tensions of the time were realistic–sometimes a little too realistic. He puts us right there with the hangings, the torture, the fire in New York, and so much more. I loved Molly and Jamie and how they helped Abigail. The story and the tension all centered on Abigail and how she copes with everything that’s going on in her personal life as well as around her in the world–her relationships with Nathan Hale and Robert Townsend and what led her to do what she did.
This is a definite must-read for any historical novel lover, but also those who want to read something that’s a little different and has great characters and settings.
Recommended.
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