Customer Reviews

A Killing at Ball's Bluff (Harrison Raines Civil War Mysteries, Book 2)

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In 1861, the initial encounter of the Civil War is fired at Fort Sumter and the South wins the first real encounter at Manassas. Harrison Raines, son of a Virginia plantation landholder who owns slaves, broke with his family and now resides in the federally controlled Washington DC. Area. In order to prove his loyalty to the northern cause and his anathema towards slavery, Harry allows Pinkerton to induct him as a captain in the newly formed Secret Service.

Few know what Harry does for a living as he acts as if he is a southern sympathizer. When he is almost killed, Harry retreats to his horse farm to wait safely for further instructions, which comes from his friend Templeton Saylor. Harry must go to Ball's Bluff to guard Colonel Baker, who dies anyway in the heat of battle. Harry is accused of treason and jailed, but escapes. He knows he is a man without a country neither the Union nor the Confederacy wanting him unless he can prove his innocence or guilt.

Although this novel is labeled a "Harrison Raines Civil War Mystery," the tale is really more a spy thriller than a who-done-it, though detective elements are in the tale. The plot contains agents, double agents, traitors, and an assortment of support cast abetting the spies. Actions run the gamut with dishonor not uncommon. Michael Kilian's novel contain some of the most fascinating war drama scenes, vividly and authentically described so that the audience can picture Spielberg saving Harry Raines.

Harriet Klausner

The protagonist Harry Raines sees Col. Edward Baker the man that he is to protect killed. Of course Harry is found with the body and he becomes a wanted man by the North. The Confederates also want Harry. He has no choice but to solve this murder. I found the first of the book rather slow but I liked the mystery intrigue of Kilian's books. He also uses a little humor to entertain us. By the author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

Ball's Bluff is second in a series written by Michael Killian. It is a Civi War murder Mystery featuring Harrison Raines as the main Character.These books are excellently written, fun to read, historically enlightening, and hard to put down. Sadly, Mr. Killian died after the sixth book in the series. A great loss to his faithful readers.

Harry Raines is finding life in Washington during the Civil War difficult. A Southerner opposed to slavery, he tries to stay as neutral as possible, even with his new job in the Secret Service. But trouble seems to find him. Someone's shooting at him on the street. Then he's assigned to guard Colonel Edward Baker, one of President Lincoln's best friends. This is a nearly impossible task in the midst of battle, but when the Colonel is killed in cold blood, Harry finds himself accused of the crime. Escaping from jail, he must stay one step ahead of his former co-workers to clear his name.

This novel, like its predecessor, provides a fascinating look at life during the Civil War. Real people are liberally sprinkled throughout, and I greatly enjoyed meeting their fictitious personas. I especially like the way Lincoln is portrayed in his few appearances. The fictitious characters are interesting as well. The plot itself seems to loose its way at times, but all the pieces to come together for a climax that includes some interesting twists.

With the characters being agents and counter-agents, the book takes on the feel of a spy novel at times. Yet, the plot includes enough interesting twists to make it a good mystery as well. Anyone interested in this time period will greatly enjoy this series.

The plot of this historical mystery lurches from one improbable point to the next: Confederate women in drag, badly characterized famous people from Lincoln to Rose Greenhow to Oliver Wendell Holmes, and dei ex machinae up the wazoo. Timing and pace here are severely flawed, leaving the reader wondering what just happened and why it matters. The "who did it", when we find it out, is too obvious. Yet characters' behavior and motivations, throughout, are not well founded. The essential theme, that of the Southern Unionist (described by the author as "neutral", inexplicably) who works as a secret agent for the North and whose loyalties are torn, is an interesting one, but it's not enough to keep this rusty ironclad afloat.