What is Sam Thomas reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Sam Thomas, author of The Midwife’s Tale.

His entry begins:

In the last year or so, I’ve fundamentally changed my reading habits. The biggest change is that I’ve gone from writing history to mysteries, so I’m now free (obligated!) to read far more fiction than in the past.

Earlier this year I gazed in horror at my To-be-Read list, and realized that I would have to change the way I read. As a result, I’ve been starting many more books than I finish, and if a work doesn’t compel me to return, I move on. I realize that this means I am denying myself the pleasure of some books that are slow to develop, but if I don’t go this route, I’m going to struggle through some pretty mediocre works and life is way too short for that.

The most recent book I read which I absolutely loved was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I know I’m kind of late to the game on this one, but it was worth the wait! I fell for Girl for a couple of reasons. First, I’m a sucker for...[read on]

About The Midwife’s Tale, from the publisher:

In the tradition of Arianna Franklin and C. J. Sansom comes Samuel Thomas’s remarkable debut, The Midwife’s Tale

It is 1644, and Parliament’s armies have risen against the King and laid siege to the city of York. Even as the city suffers at the rebels’ hands, midwife Bridget Hodgson becomes embroiled in a different sort of rebellion. One of Bridget’s friends, Esther Cooper, has been convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to be burnt alive. Convinced that her friend is innocent, Bridget sets out to find the real killer.

Bridget joins forces with Martha Hawkins, a servant who’s far more skilled with a knife than any respectable woman ought to be. To save Esther from the stake, they must dodge rebel artillery, confront a murderous figure from Martha’s past, and capture a brutal killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. The investigation takes Bridget and Martha from the homes of the city’s most powerful families to the alleyways of its poorest neighborhoods. As they delve into the life of Esther’s murdered husband, they discover that his ostentatious Puritanism hid a deeply sinister secret life, and that far too often tyranny and treason go hand in hand.

View the trailer for The Midwife’s Tale, and learn more about the book and author at Sam Thomas's website, blog, and Facebook page.

My Book, The Movie: The Midwife’s Tale.

The Page 69 Test: The Midwife's Tale.

Writers Read: Sam Thomas.

--Marshal Zeringue