The Orphanmaster Audiobook (Free)

From a debut novelist, a gripping historical thriller and rousing love story set in seventeenth-century ManhattanIt’s 1663 in the tiny, hardscrabble Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, now present-day southern Manhattan. Orphan kids are going lacking, and among those looking at the mysterious state of affairs certainly are a quick-witted twenty-two-year-old investor, Blandine von Couvering, herself an orphan, and a dashing United kingdom spy called Edward Drummond.

Suspects abound, including the governor’s about The Orphanmaster wealthy nephew, a green-eyed aristocrat with decadent tastes; an Algonquin trapper who could be possessed with a demon that transforms people into cannibals; as well as the colony’s very own corrupt and conflicted orphanmaster. Both the seek out the killer and Edward and Blandine’s newfound love are endangered, however, when Blandine is normally accused to be a witch and Edward is sentenced to hold for espionage. On the other hand, battle looms as the English king plans to wrest control of the colony.

Jean Zimmerman brings New Amsterdam and its surrounding wilderness alive for modern-day readers with exacting period fine detail. Lively, fast paced, and full of colorful heroes, The Orphanmaster is definitely a dramatic page-turner that will appeal to followers of Hilary Mantel and Geraldine Brooks.