The trouble with reading so many series is the fact that some are bound to fall by the wayside. Before I began my book blog, I read the first Sister Rose Callahan mystery, Death of a Winter Shaker, and I really enjoyed it. As a teenager, I once visited the Shaker community of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, and learned how fascinating the Shakers were. Besides their gorgeous furniture, they were quite innovative in architecture, interior design, agriculture, and labor-saving devices. Since they were celibate, their communities depended on converts and orphans to survive and thrive. Woodworth's series is set when most Shaker villages had died out. The first book took up the topic of "winter Shakers"-- those homeless people who would convert to Shakerism during the winter so they would have food, clothing, and shelter, only to leave when spring came. This second book focuses on intolerance, a theme that is very pertinent today.

Sister Rose Callahan is a woman who was brought up as a Shaker but lived out in the world for a short period of time, so she's more than capable of dealing with non-believers. But with the shortage of members, she's had to assume the role of eldress-- caring for the spiritual health of the female members of the community-- as well as trustee-- the person who takes care of the financial side of things. This wouldn't be an easy task for anyone, but it's particularly tough for Sister Rose, since Elder Wilhelm is a thorn in her side, constantly harping about the good old days and completely unwilling to deal with the problems of the present in any real meaningful way.

As in the first book, A Deadly Shaker Spring has a marvelous sense of place and culture. You really don't need to know a thing about the Shakers to understand what's going on. If you do know about them-- like I do-- your knowledge will be enhanced. Since readers will know the person (or persons) responsible, this mystery isn't a whodunit, but a whydunit, and although I did find one character's conversion at the end to be too quick to be completely believable, I still found this to be an excellent read. Even after more than ten years between reading the first book and the second, I immediately fell back in with the characters, and that, to me, is a sign of how good Deborah Woodworth's writing is. I'm glad I have all the books in the series waiting for me. They are "reading money" in the bank. ( )

A series of incidents makes it appear that someone is out to destroy the North Homage Shaker community. It becomes apparent that the person is intimately acquainted with the Shaker ways. Is it a current member or an apostate? It's up to Sister Rose Callahan who has recently been named eldress to determine the source of problems and to call in the police if necessary. This is my second venture into this series. I tried one several years ago, but I don't think I could even finish it. I managed to get through the book this time, but I don't think this will ever be a favorite series. I think my biggest problem with the series is probably the thing that makes it unique -- the Shaker Village setting. I just don't really care for it. The plot of this is somewhat plausible, and it's believable that the Shakers would want to keep the investigation within their own community as long as possible. I probably won't bother to read additional books in this Shaker series. ( )

A series of accidents begin to drive a wedge between the Believers in the North Homage Shaker village and the nearby community. But are they accidents, or are they malicious pranks? How are they connected to events that occurred a quarter of a century earlier, and to several apostates who left the village at that time? The unexpected death of one of the Believers mirrors a long ago death. Did these Believers die of natural causes, or did someone give them a helping hand? Are the Shakers in mortal danger? Sister Rose Callahan, the village's Trustee and now its newly appointed Eldress, digs into the past to uncover the roots of the present troubles.

This is the second of Deborah Woodworth's historical cozies with a Shaker setting. The religious beliefs of the Shakers provide a plausible reason for Sister Rose to investigate and for the society's initial reluctance to involve the local police. The reliance on old journals for providing crucial information is too convenient, yet it is believable that members of this religious group would keep journals. I'm annoyed by mysteries whose primary characters put themselves in danger through carelessness or recklessness, so it's refreshing to read one where that doesn't happen. This better-than-average cozy is recommended to historical cozy readers. ( )