Reviewed by Mystereity Reviews on
A Memory of Muskets, book 7 in the Chloe Ellefson series, a heart-wrenching tale of Roelke's ancestors is finely woven into a riveting modern mystery. When a Civil War re-enactor is found dead at Old World Wisconsin, Roelke is plunged into yet another murder investigation. With nothing to identify the dead man, the investigation stalls and another Civil War re-enactor is shot to death at Milwaukee's German Fest. Roelke works to piece together the pieces and find a killer. Throughout the book, the tragic story of Roelke's ancestors unfolds as Roelke and Chloe purchase the Roelke homestead, which has been in his family since the time of the Civil War.
The plot was really well crafted; I had no firm suspects (although I hoped Petty guilty of the murders.) and the ending did come as a surprise. The characters continue to grow and gain some dimension and have become a solid unit.
What I really loved was the the Roelke family history. There was a lot I could relate to with this book; I have been working on my family's German genealogy over the last few months, so I guess I felt a certain kinship with the story. It certainly brought much enjoyment for me reading it, as it could just as easily have been my own history. I'm woman enough to admit that I did cry at the end of the book. When I said a heart-wrenching story, I wasn't kidding.
Overall, a another solid entry into the Chloe Ellefson series and I can't wait to read more. This book can be read as a standalone, but would be better appreciated if the series was read in order.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 21 May, 2016: Finished reading
- 21 May, 2016: Reviewed