No Certain Rest: A Novel [Hardcover]

Jim Lehrer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2002

On a ridge overlooking Burnside Bridge—the focus of the Battle of Antietam—souvenir hunters find the unmarked grave of an unknown Union officer.

Don Spaniel, an archeologist in the National Park Service, is called in to examine the remains. He soon discovers that the officer was murdered and that his identification disk could not possibly belong to him, since its rightful owner is buried elsewhere. So who was this officer? Where did he come from? And why was he killed?

Spaniel’s obsessive investigation leads not only to his reliving the horrible carnage that occurred at Burnside Bridge over a century before, but to the true identity of the Union officer and the reason why another body resides in his grave in a small New England town.

In a swift narrative deftly combining the past with the present, Jim Lehrer has created an engrossing story that will appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Those who share television newsman James Lehrer's passion for the Civil War will be thrilled to encounter this graceful, deftly written novel about a U.S. Parks Department archaeologist investigating the mystery of a murdered Union officer whose remains are discovered in an unmarked grave near Antietam, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles in history. Don Spaniel's curiosity about the circumstances of the soldier's death is ratcheted up several degrees when it turns out that the ID disk found in the grave belongs to another solider from a different regiment, whose body is buried elsewhere. And when a woman from the historical society of a small town in the Midwest gives Spaniel a document that refers to the murder, along with a warning that some stories are better left untold, he swings into high gear to solve a century-old mystery. The pace of this novel is so slow it may put some readers to sleep, and the protagonist is more of a talking history book than a flesh-and-blood character, but real Civil War buffs probably won't mind at all. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

In his 13th novel, PBS NewsHour anchor Lehrer delivers a clever forensic mystery. This effort does not quite pack the emotional and dramatic wallop of his last book, The Special Prisoner, but it does raise powerful questions about the ethics of whitewashing historical truths. Dr. Don Spaniel is an archeologist with the National Park Service. He is puzzled by an unusual grave discovered at the Civil War battlefield in Antietam,, Md., site of the single bloodiest day of fighting in America's military history. The skeletal remains of a Union officer reveal that the victim had been executed. While trying to identify the dead officer, Spaniel learns that the name on his I.D. tag is that of a man buried as a local hero back in his Connecticut hometown after the war. Who, then, is this unfortunate soul, and why was he wearing another man's identity tag? And why was he murdered? As Spaniel uses sophisticated, high-tech forensic equipment and procedures in his investigation, a 100-year-old written confession surfaces in an Iowa historical archive, and Spaniel suddenly realizes the magnitude of the mystery. What he doesn't grasp, however, is that the descendants of the Civil War veterans are just as passionate about honor today as their great-great-grandfathers were in 1862. Spaniel's professional fervor, and his ultimate decision about whether to disclose the truth, could have unintended, tragic results. Lehrer's style is fluid and fast moving; he skillfully develops suspense surrounding a compelling ethical dilemma.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (August 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375503722
• ISBN-13: 978-0375503726
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,052,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Blend of History and Mystery, September 5, 2002

By 

Wilkie Collins (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Certain Rest: A Novel (Hardcover)

I am a great fan of Jim Lehrer's work. His book, White Widow, is an American classic. No Certain Rest is very different, but as rewarding. A quietly searing search for the truth about one of the worst battles of the Civil War, the book deals in another kind of obsession. Lehrer comes to his subject with a wealth of historical knowledge and he writes with a crispness and an economy that makes this book a deceptively easy read -- a page turner -- when, in fact, its themes and characters are complex. This book is for Civil War buffs and novices alike. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it as one of Lehrer's best.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for history and mystery buffs!, September 4, 2002

By 

Bonnie Jo Davis "Loves to read and review books!" (Southern CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Certain Rest: A Novel (Hardcover)

No Certain Rest is a modern day novel focusing on a Civil War mystery. The main character, Dr. Spaniel, is a government archeologist who is brought in to work on an unidentified set of remains discovered accidentally by relic hunters near the battle of Antietam. The overall mystery is fascinating as is the details included in a letter written by a civil war survivor who is a character in the book. The book provides authentic details of the war that are a bit gruesome and the dialogue is a bit stilted and dry but overall I enjoyed the book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Lehrer ain't no Hemingway., March 2, 2005

By 

Buccaneer (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Certain Rest: A Novel (Paperback)

I love Jim Lehrer's news program, and I had heard that he was a prolific writer, and I am a passionate student of Civil War history, so you can imagine my delight when I saw this book for sale at the giftshop at the Antietam National Battlefield, having just visited Burnside's Bridge. The cover blurb was fascinating, the story looked fun -- and the book is 10% off at the park!

Alas, I must add my voice to the chorus here. Mr. Lehrer ain't no Hemingway. The story begins well, then rapidly begins introducing one-dimensional characters and implausible plot twists. I finished the book wishing that the story had ended a chapter or two earlier.

A final comment: if Mr. Lehrer wanted to deeply address the subject of futile infantry charges, ordered by incompetent commanders and made inevitable by gaps between technology and tactics, there are far better historical places where he could have done so -- all within easy reach of Mr. Lehrer's home in Washington. Frederickburg and Cold Harbor come to mind, but I'm sure there are many others.