In a fact-based historical mystery, Army officer Harrison Hull is asked by Thomas Jefferson to investigate the disappearance of two slaves from Jefferson's nephew's plantation, an investigation that leads Hull into extreme danger and some shocking revelations.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In the second Harrison Hull historical mystery (after The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis ), Thomas Jefferson summons Hull, soldier and frontier adventurer, to Monticello in the cold January of 1812. His mission: to track down two missing slaves (Sally Hemings's cousins) now belonging to Jefferson's Kentucky nephews. Hull's quest, fueled by constant hard drinking, takes him on horseback to isolated plantations, a thieves' hangout in a cave, a dungeon-like country jail and an Ohio River island harboring a slave-breeding farm. He witnesses a vicious flogging and the murder trial of three innocent slaves, captures some adversaries, kills others, narrowly escapes being slain several times, survives an earthquake, lets a charming villain slip through his fingers but solves the case and arrests two murderers. Though many of the players (not Hull) and events are factual, plotting and characterization are sometimes weak. Burns nevertheless paints a vigorous picture of a frontier slave state and evokes the peculiar attitudes arising from two unnatural conditions--being a slave and being a master.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Captain Harrison Hull (The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis, 1993) is commissioned by no less than ex-President Thomas Jefferson to discover what's happened to George and Ambrose, former slaves of Jefferson's. The slaves--cousins of Jefferson's supposed longtime mistress, Sally Hemings--have disappeared from the farm of Jefferson's nephew, Lilburne Lewis. When Harry arrives at Lilburne's Kentucky farm, he's warned by Lilburne's neighbor Jonah Hibbs that he's in danger. Right. Following a tip that George and Ambrose are in nearby Loganville, Harry is almost killed in a river accident; set upon by a pair of numbskulled ruffians evidently hired by forgettable Machiavelli James Ford; poisoned nearly unto death by Lilburne and his brother; and rescued from the gates of death only by three of Lilburne's remaining slaves--whom Lilburne then promptly accuses of killing George and Ambrose. Luckily for Harry, who isn't much of a detective, a real-life earthquake--the second of two with a decisive role in this fact-based tale--will resolve the halfhearted mystery before anybody else can have a whack at him. Less Sherlock Holmes than buckskin Rambo, with blandly eventful adventures among nondescript backwoodsmen filling the gaps between documented historical events. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
