Shadow on the Valley/a Civil War Thriller [Hardcover]

Kirk Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1994

While the Civil War rages, members of the Dunker church, a peaceful German sect opposed to bloodshed, are being killed one by one by a vicious murderer, and Union surgeon Colonel Simon Wolfe must find the diabolical killer before he can strike again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although well written, this latest addition to the recent spate of historical whodunits suffers from slow pacing. In the fall of 1864, as Sheridan's troops march through Virginia, Simon Wolfe, the Southern-born medical director for the Union Army of the Shenandoah, discovers the body of a brutally murdered woman and a terrified eyewitness--both members of the Dunker church, which is neutral in the conflict. Sheridan wants the killing hushed up; President Lincoln could be harmed in his upcoming election battle against Democratic candidate George McClellan if news gets out that the Union army harbors a murderer. But Wolfe will not let the matter rest; he raises suspicions against several of his fellow officers, including George Armstrong Custer, and his search for justice becomes a crucial battle in the civil war of his own divided loyalties. Mitchell ( With Siberia Comes a Chill ) fills his book with sharply drawn original and historical characters, notably the mercurial, profane Sheridan and Wolfe himself, a believable, troubled outsider whose principles constantly set him against his superiors. The mystery element, however, frequently gets lost in the much more interesting conflicts surrounding the main character.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

During Union General Phil Sheridan's 1864 advance down the Shenandoah Valley, someone begins murdering the Dunkers, a sect of German pacifists whose farms dot the area. Surgeon Colonel Simon Wolfe appoints himself their avenger after befriending a schizophrenic Dunker widow and her child. Suspicion at first points toward an officer on Sheridan's staff. Amid the carnage of the two maneuvering armies, and against advice from all sides, Wolfe assembles clues and follows them to the real killer. Excellently written with attention to historical detail, this is a superb, skillfully crafted thriller to match Mitchell's earlier Backdraft (Berkeley, 1991) and With Siberia Comes a Chill (St. Martin's, 1991). Highly recommended for most libraries.
- Robert Jordan, Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 342 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (February 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312105428
• ISBN-13: 978-0312105426
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling mystery novel set amid the chaos of war, January 21, 2000

By 

Ironmike (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow on the Valley/a Civil War Thriller (Hardcover)

Kirk Mitchell has written an interesting book here, a good group of major characters, both real and fictional, the settings are authentic, the battle scenes and massive marching columns of troops and wagons are well handled. The central character, Surgeon Colonel Simon Wolfe, is a unique since he is a one armed Union army officer who stumbles into a series of gruesome murders amid the massive destruction of the Shenandoah Valley campaign of General Phil Sheridan. As Wolfe endevors to solve the murders, it seems nearly everyone in the chain of command is suspect, even the egotistical George Custer, who appears through the novel. Custer is handled very well, a nice touch. There are plenty of surprises and suspect twists. There is a great female character, a Dunker woman, who adds much to this haunting tale. There is a terrific scene when the captured doctor is brought before the legendary Confederate raider, John Mosby, the Grey Ghost. Plenty of gun smoke, thundering musket fire, muddy marches, screaming wounded and a fresh look at the crude and ghastly medical practices of the day. I did find one major error, during one scene when the enraged, one-armed doctor is about to confront Sheridan as a prime suspect, the doctor suddenly seems to grow a new appendage for several paragraphs, he is gripping something in one coat pocket, then clutching something in the other and he is described as squeezing his fists. A major goof when trying to keep a rather detailed and lengthy and blood murder mystery going. But over all, a decent read. I also recommend his other Civil War novel, Fredericksburg. I did a reveiw on that one a few weeks back, check it out. I would like to see Hollywood grab this and give it to a good director and cast.