“The Gideon Stoltz mystery I’ve been waiting for . . . Fergus has connected in a significant way the happenings in the town of Adamant and the broader national context.” — Mark Cheathem, on the blog Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics
“Lays out both the struggles of a new nation, and the pains of growing into determined manhood . . . The author’s meticulous historical portrayal offers a potent integrity.” — New York Journal of Books
“A harrowing read but perfect for a mystery lover looking for a novel with substance.” — Cool Green Science Book Review
“Laced with action, highly readable . . . One of the most important stories you’ll read this year.” — Athens, Alabama, News Courier
“Meticulously researched and deftly plotted . . . You will smell the pipe smoke and pastures, feel your pulse quicken, and keep turning the pages well into the night as I surely did.” — Peter Farris, author of Last Call for the Living and The Devil Himself
“Fergus has an uncanny gift for transporting a reader back into the past, making the historical personal.” — Paul Doiron, author of The Poacher’s Son and Dead by Dawn
“A complicated web of mystery and suspense that is uniquely American . . . gripping, heartbreaking, and inspirational all at once.” — Jeffrey Blount, author of The Emancipation of Evan Wells
“Drawing on the documented abductions of thousands of free Black Americans in the decades between the Revolution and the Civil War, Fergus creates a page-turning tale of evil, exploitation, and the courage to confront it.” — Richard Bell, author of Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home
“More than a mystery, Lay This Body Down explores the moral and legal quandary that enslavement presented White Americans enjoying the liberty of their new republic alongside the horrors experienced by those millions of African descent the nation subjugated.” — Ramin Ganeshram, author of The General’s Cook
“Deftly plotted, lyrically observant . . . an engrossing read.” — Jeffrey Lent, author of In the Fall and A Slant of Light
“Gripping . . . Threaded through every strand is historical context and Fergus’s gift for writing evocatively about the natural world, horses, and rural life in a time past.” — Barton Chronicle
“Plenty of action, tender moments, and a shocking climax that is both gripping and powerful . . . historical fiction at its best.” — Marvin Minkler, Amazon reader’s review
