A brisk epic wrapped in a character-driven mystery that historical fiction fans will savor.
A Civil War puzzle perplexes a pair of museum archivists in this novel.
As in Steinmetz’s debut, Codename: Sob Story (2013), the author reaches back into America’s history in this work to spin a story bringing the past into vivid focus. Breanne Walker, a Pennsylvania archival preservationist with the Gettysburg National Military Park’s museum, is summoned one night to investigate a 150-year-old white oak “witness tree” suddenly struck by lightning in a freak summer storm. The tree once stood on the famous Civil War battleground but has now been toppled, and, within the exposed roots, Breanne and her boss, Greg Ransome, discover the human remains of a Confederate soldier and a tattered diary. Assigned by Greg to this confidential archival project, she breathlessly focuses on the historic journal, written in 1863 and with just the author’s identifying initials. The diary’s verbatim contents run alongside Breanne’s swift carbon dating and DNA analysis, and this combination sparks notes of mystery and tension. Breanne has a short amount of time to research the body and the book before media outlets demand answers. In addition, if controlling Gettysburg lead archivist Peggy Cupples discovers Breanne doing the Battle of Gettysburg work meant for her tier of command at the museum, she will lose her job. The intriguing diary serves as a comprehensive, heavily detailed origin story, relating the life of farmer and medical midwife Abigail Pritchard, who was caught in an arranged marriage. She lived on the property where the battle took place; the “oppressive and frightening” warfare erupted all around her. With dogged research and the aid of enigmatic dreams, Breanne quickly puts all the clues together and digs deep into historical Civil War data. Events become a lot more complex before Breanne realizes the politics involved in her investigation and the moral choice she must make as a result of her findings. Extensively researched, Steinmetz’s novel opens a window to the past and creates an intelligent and authentic character in Breanne. Embedded in her preservationist vocation is an immersive history lesson, spotlighting women’s roles in the Civil War. The author is a talented writer who is most proficient at fast-paced prose and a plot that fuses history with suspense.
A brisk epic wrapped in a character-driven mystery that historical fiction fans will savor.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63837-274-5
Page Count: 508
Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A heartfelt and hopeful read.
The brother and the fiancee of a deceased duke seek solace in each other and unexpectedly find love.
When his brother tragically dies in a fire shortly before getting married, Quinton Errington must step into his role as the Duke of Wesley. Quin preferred his job as a professor at Cambridge, but familial duty comes first. Lady Catherine Greatheart grieves for her departed betrothed, but she’s experienced the loss of loved ones before. Both her parents died when she was young, leaving Catherine to live with her beloved grandmother. When Quin and Catherine run across each other by chance in Hyde Park one day, they find comfort together because of their shared experience. They easily become friends, particularly when Catherine’s grandmother becomes ill and Catherine could use extra support. Their friendship develops into more, but the rules of society place barriers in their path. Kicking off a new series, this sweet story has short chapters of alternating perspectives and a sometimes-meandering plot. Tragedy brings the leads together, but the book’s focus on resilience and hope makes it uplifting overall. Catherine’s keen intellect and Quin’s noble heart make them winsome characters, and their banter is amusing. There are several lovable (and a few villainous) side characters as well as enticing glimpses of those sure to get their own stories in future installments. The historical setting is rich, and the conflicts are driven by the way of life specific to the time period, particularly in regard to lack of women’s rights and courtship customs.
A heartfelt and hopeful read.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72823-431-1
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
A thoughtful portrait of one revolutionary’s remarkable resilience, far from home.
One of Mexico’s greatest political leaders enters his wilderness years in the rough streets of New Orleans just before the U.S. Civil War.
In an abbreviated but essential preface, Herrera explains how future president of Mexico Benito Juárez came to live in New Orleans for two years beginning in 1853. Having already served as governor of his home state of Oaxaca but long before he will hold off an invasion by France, he’s been sent into exile by political rival General Santa Anna, along with his brother-in-law Pepe Maza. No one living knows what happened to Juárez in the Big Easy, so Herrera’s suppositions are well grounded between history and creative license. Asked by a new friend what brings him to town, Juárez replies drily, “A slight diversion, a delta, you might say.” Even though Juárez is intimately familiar with Mexico’s brand of corruption, he’s unprepared to be beaten and robbed by the police upon arrival. He’s even less prepared for the realities of an American slave trade at its height. “These people farm people, they breed humans captured at birth,” Herrera writes. “These people fatten up their children, their own children, and then sell them.” The narrative is populated with real historical figures like fellow reformers Melchor Ocampo and Ponciano Arriaga, with one memorable scene featuring a concert on 10 pianos by American composer Louis Gottschalk. In fact, there’s a surprising richness to the milieu of a story mostly about meetings and letter writing. The New Orleans depicted here is carnivalesque, and the surreal spectacle of bear fights, spontaneous parades, and clandestine meetings, added to Benito’s colorful dreams about liberation and justice, give the story a vibrant, almost hallucinatory feel. Meanwhile, Herrera’s portrait of a leader in exile—rolling cigars, printing pamphlets, and plotting a revolution from the sidelines—depicts the frustrating dichotomy Juárez experiences between his lowly circumstances and his dreams of a better nation.
A thoughtful portrait of one revolutionary’s remarkable resilience, far from home.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781644453070
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Graywolf
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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