From Publishers Weekly
The first battle of the Civil War provides background and theme for this debut novel in a projected series that will combine mystery with the history of the period. Southern-bred gambler and horse trader Harrison Raines provides reluctant escort for an actress friend from Washington who wishes to observe the fighting at Manassas. Instead of the quick, decisive Union victory expected, however, there comes a panicky retreat, then rout, of federal forces. As the escaping troops overtake the observers, Harry watches a yellow-haired officer valiantly try to stem the retreat and rally the soldiers. Later he learns that the same officer has been slain and is being branded a coward who led the retreat. The convolutions of the plot, as Harry's efforts are enlisted, preempted and resisted by various interests concerned with the officer's death, allow Kilian to introduce a slew of historical figures from Clara Barton to Abraham Lincoln. Some, like Allan Pinkerton, play large roles; others, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, make cameo appearances. The plot strains as it navigates some very strange turns, and the narrative never seems to find a pace it's comfortable with. Perhaps like the federal troops who wilted in the first combat, Kilian will rally to more valiant efforts in future battles. Meanwhile, Ann McMillan's Civil War series (Angel Trumpet, etc.) remains a better bet for those who like their mysteries colored in blue and grey. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
This lumbering historical mystery from Washington reporter Kilian (Major Washington, 1998, etc.) initiates a new series whose successive volumes, observing chronological order, will be set on key Civil War battlefields. Accordingly, Kilian begins with Manassas (a.k.a. Bull Run), the first campaign of the war. When Harrison Grenville Raines, a good-natured Virginia wastrel living in Washington, is persuaded by actress and adventuress Caitlin Howard, the lady he admires, to escort her to observe the hostilities, the decidedly unmilitary Raines is enlisted to investigate the mysterious death of a Union Army officer whose reputation as a gambler and a coward has left him coldly mourned by comrades who suggest that he deserved his death. The truth is somewhat more complicated than that, as the resourceful Harry, a gambler in more senses than one, eventually discovers in solving the crime and learning some truths about his own manhood. Along the way he encounters an impressively top-heavy cast of characters, whose fictional creations share space with such historical figures as John Wilkes Booth, Clara Barton, detective extraordinaire Allan Pinkerton, and President Lincoln. The story creaks and groans under the weight of Kilian's obviously diligent research, but it has real substance, if less style, and the series seems on the whole a promising notion. --
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