Mystery surrounds the shooting of wealthy powdermaker, Isaac Schlussel. Who shot Captain Isaac Schlussel and why? That question is at the core of this novel set in the early 19th century in Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields. Schlussel is one of those ruthlessly ambitious men who flocked to the area intent on wresting fortune from the earth. Dying of his wound after being shot by an unknown assassin, Schlussel muses on his history which provides a varied cast of characters with reason to wish him dead. The technique employed by the author allows the reader to join Schlussel in looking to the past for their motives and to observe how his obsession with the woman who has captured his soul plays a deciding role in his fate.

Reader Reviews for "Schlussel's Woman"

Reviewed by Floyd Orr	9/13/2007
John Lindermuth effectively takes the reader back to a simpler time, when tiny American towns were still being established in what were then remote areas. We know going in that the central character of the story, Isaac Schlussel, is not likely to survive the end of the final chapter. As we read through the text of Schlussel’s Woman, we incrementally learn about the forces that drive a selfish, boorish, horse’s ass toward his final status as a murder victim. Like an episode of Murder, She Wrote, the question is not if someone is going to murder this jerk, but who, how, and why. Most of the main characters in the story have at least one good reason to do the deed. The author has set the storyline in rural Pennsylvania, setting the tone with accurate historical knowledge and colloquial grammar. Most, but not all, of the plot takes place in 1829 and 1830, and Mr. Lindermuth has created an accurate tale of historical fiction. The plot and characters are believable, and there are just enough twists in the tale to keep the reader interested. John R. Lindermuth is a mature, experienced writer, and these qualities are expressed well in Schlussel’s Woman.

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