The Maiden by Kate Foster

A masterfully reimagined historical murder tale.

I seem to be on a binge of reading historical fiction lately, and I have no regrets.

Kate Foster has that enviable and magical (to me) ability to take an obscure historical event and bring it to life in a way that transports the reader into another time, another place, and characters who you root for even if they have somewhat questionable morals. The Maiden, inspired by true events, questions the truth surrounding the execution by guillotine of Christian Nimmo on 12 November,1679 for the murder of her lover and uncle, Lord James Forrester.

With immersive, descriptive writing, Foster manages to create a sense of impending doom on each page. Foster's writing is witty, her characters complex, and there are moments of humor, joy, and indecency. In fact, I felt so many emotions reading this book, including:

• Hope that all the women could break free from a society doing them harm.

• Anger at the hierarchical and patriarchal systems that still plagues us to this day (in different forms).

• Sadness for so many reasons.

• Joy for the friendships formed in unexpected places.

The list could go on forever. The Maiden is worth the read for anyone who likes historical fiction, murder mysteries, all written with a feminist twist.