| Title | : | Murder on the March (An Alphonso Clay Mystery of the Civil War, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 218 |
| Publication | : | Published March 9, 2021 |
Georgia, the summer of 1864:
General William Tecumseh Sherman commands a mighty Union army, tasked with delivering a knockout blow to the Confederacy by rendering the rich resources of Georgia unavailable to the rebellion. Relying on impeccable intelligence, he launches an all-out attack on the Confederate lines at Kennesaw Mountain - and is bloodily repulsed. To make matters worse, his most reliable scout, Captain Ambrose Bierce, is critically wounded, and Sherman's most reliable general is mysteriously killed under the cover of battle. Sherman is persuaded by Union Army nurse Teresa Duval that these are murderous attacks perpetrated by a saboteur in his army. She urges him to summon Major Alphonso Clay, General Grant's sinister troubleshooter. Sherman is unaware that Duval is a spy for Wall Street financier Jay Gould, and has her own agenda regarding Clay. Clay and his friend Lieutenant Jeremiah Lot find themselves accompanying Sherman's army on its march through Georgia, desperate to identify the traitorous murderer before he can strike again, and possibly allow the Confederacy to snatch a miraculous victory from the jaws of almost certain defeat.
Murder on the March (An Alphonso Clay Mystery of the Civil War, #3) Reviews
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“Murder on the March” by Jack Martin is part of the “Alphonso Clay Mystery of the Civil War” series, novels which feature historic figures with all their idiosyncrasies, foibles, and underlying personality quirks. This is enhanced by a unique cast of fictional heroes and villains that fill in the context and enhance the drama. It is not necessary to have read Martin’s previous books or even high school American History books to enjoy this one.
In this installment, set in 1864, readers drop in on Major General William Tecumseh Sherman as he gallops across a dusty field. The events of these times are written in letters of blood, and all hope that this is the last chapter. Bodies of hundreds of soldiers lay like so many leaves covering the ground; masses of torn flesh stain where living men had been moments before. Into the mix of the genuine and the horrifying, come the fictional Major Alphonso Clay and Lieutenant Jeremiah trouble-shooters, as well as Teresa Duval nurse, caregiver, and spy.
The story unfolds mostly from the “Northern” point of view as Sherman and the Union Army advance through Southern territory. Martin takes readers into the life and death of the times amid the bustle of a large army camp. A train slowly shudders to a stop, emitting a final burst of steam that sounds like the dying gasp of a wounded beast. The slight, sickly odor of decay permeates the air, and soldiers perch precariously on crates containing the infamous army crackers.
“Murder on the March” is a fictional depiction of a dramatic and traumatic time in the history of The United States. It is compelling both from a fictional perspective and an historic one as well. Scars of disastrous events so long ago remain to this day. “Murder on the March” may not be a book for every reader. It is not a book to read casually, no matter on which side one’s ancestors fought, and in many cases, ancestors fought on both sides. This book is fiction, but the tone, the atmosphere, the devastation, and the trauma are authentic.
