No Virtue

Now that the war is over, bitterness lingers along the Mississippi. Still, Luke Williamson, a former Union officer, and Masey Baldridge, a Confederate veteran, have established a truce of their own, based on honor and common interest. Baldridge had saved Williamson's paddle wheeler, Paragon, from disaster and proved that skills honed on the battlefield could be put to use for good, even by a man with a bad knee and a taste for whiskey.
When a prostitute working on the paddle wheeler is found murdered, and Williamson's black first mate is arrested, the captain again turns to Baldridge for help. The police are certain that Jacob Lusk is the murderer, and there aren't many in Memphis who are willing to disagree. The search for the killer ranges from the Memphis waterfront to the nightspots of New Orleans, opens the barely healed wounds of war, and ultimately leads not only to a murderer but to a fortune in Southern gold.

YA?A fine mystery set around the post-Civil War period. When a murder takes place aboard Luke's Mississippi paddle wheeler, Southern and Union veterans come together to solve the case. A rare coin, part of the Lost Confederate treasury, is an important clue. Even Jefferson Davis is interviewed by detective Masey Baldridge. This is an intriguing story with well-developed characters. American history/Civil War buffs and general readers will find the story compelling, hard to figure, and action packed. The historical setting adds interest, making this a good title for social-studies reading lists. This is the second story about Masey and Luke; the first was No Bottom (Walker, 1994).?Linda Vretos, West Springfield High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Nimbly weaving history and mystery, Civil War expert Brewer brings back Reconstruction-era riverboat captain Luke Williamson and Confederate veteran and insurance agent Masey Baldridge, introduced in No Bottom, in their second excellent historical drama. A young woman, a regular on Williamson's Mississippi steamboat who frequently enjoyed the company of wealthy male passengers, is found dead in the river in Memphis, her body tangled in the paddlewheel. Jacob Lusk, the first mate, who is black, is arrested for her murder. Williamson refuses to believe Lusk committed the crime and hires Baldridge to investigate. At the same time, Salina Tyner, a friend of the victim and also a prostitute, who is skeptical of the hard-drinking Baldridge's ability to find the murderer, also works on the case. Baldridge follows a trail that leads to a suspected cache of gold coins from the Confederacy's treasury; the coins' existence and their disappearance is confirmed by Jefferson Davis in a well-placed cameo appearance. Brewer's fully dimensioned characters give life to his historical plotting, making for an eminently satisfying mystery.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.