The Burying Ground

Luke Lewis has completed his training as a doctor in Montreal and taken up a position as a helper to Dr. Christie in Yorkville, which is just outside Toronto.  Shortly after getting there, his father, Thaddeus Lewis has been asked by his former protege, Morgan Spicer, to investigate a puzzle.  Spicer had chased two grave robbers from a burying ground for paupers.  Why had they dug up an old body?

Due to a bit of heroic action, Luke finds himself invited to a soirée in Toronto.  There he learns that the woman who invited him is married to a notorious man who seems to have his finger in many unscrupulous activities.  Later that night, Spicer calls to inform Thaddeus that another attempt to rob a grave occurred.  He had managed to scare off the robbers.  Thaddeus notes that the buried man had been an African.

Thaddeus decides to take Spicer into Toronto to investigate where the bodies might have come from.  They have little luck.

It is at this same time that the area around Toronto experiences an outbreak of typhoid. Luke can't believe that it comes from the air. He begins to believe that water could be the source of the problem.

It is when a third attempt is made to rob one of the graves that the issue is solved.  Author Janet Kellough's historical mystery is a fast paced, quick read.  The burying ground in question actually did exist north of Toronto.