Randy Overbeck
Author of the Bestselling Series
The Haunted Shores Mysteries
Washington's Spy Ring
Reviews
Abigail Trench
A vivid, propulsive Revolutionary-era thriller with the spy-craft verve of the streaming hit TURN: Washington’s Spies and the electricity of 1776’s New York that Hamilton lovers will recognize, this story is inspired by the lone female operative in Washington’s spy ring.
In occupied New York, a schoolteacher with everything to lose turns information into a weapon, threading between Redcoats and rebels as plots against Washington gather steam.
After rogue Redcoats assault her and strip her family’s Long Island farm, Abigail Trench fights to survive in New York City—tutoring in a high-ranking British officer’s Water Street household by day, navigating taverns, informants, and soldiers by night. Through Abigail’s keen eyes—and a counter-narrative following a principled British major—the novel renders the moral gray zones of occupation with gritty intimacy. As rumors swirl of a strike at General Washington, Abigail’s vantage inside upper-crust parlors and rough waterfront rooms makes her an ideal courier—and a target.
“With an eye for remarkable detail clearly anchored in deep historical research, master storyteller Randy Overbeck delivers a rousing, top-notch tale of courage amid our nation’s struggle for independence. Overbeck offers readers an array of memorable characters who struggle to make their way in a young New York City beset with Redcoats, poverty, garbage, and a populace bitterly divided between rebels and loyalists.”—William Kent Kreuger, author of the Edgar award winner This Tender Land and the NYT bestselling Cork O’Connor series
“Overbeck has crafted an outstanding work of historical fiction in which he brings those dangerous and daring times of the Revolutionary War alive. The character of Abigail Trench is a model of courage and resilience not just for the Revolutionary era but for our times as well. Outstanding!”—James R Benn, author of the Billy Boyle WWII mysteries.
"A gripping historical novel...a vivid, tightly woven narrative that follows a resilient schoolteacher forced into the shadows of espionage. With its textured world building, escalating tension, and emotionaly grounded heroine, ABIGAIL TRENCH delivers a high intensity read."--Still Moments Magazine
"Good historical fiction becomes very good historical fiction when the author, in this case Randy Overbeck, finds a novel way to tell the story...a pleasure to read and a very nicely crafted historical drama."--Readerviews.com
Abigail Trench is an accessible, vivid piece of historical fiction that blends Revolutionary War intrigue with a personal story of survival and self-invention. What I liked most…was the book’s sense that history is lived at street level by people who are frightened, resourceful, wounded, stubborn, and often underestimated. It’s a story with grit, momentum, and real affection for the people history usually leaves at the edges.★★★★★--Literary Titan