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Jeffrey Marks has written the second in a series featuring General Ulysses S. Grant. It is after the Civil War is over, but before Grant is elected to the Presidency as the hero of the Union. The General, however, is most cognizant of the fact that the White House will, no doubt, be the next home for him and his family. On a trip to Cincinnati, Grant, his wife, Julia, and youngest son, Jess stop in Bethel, Ohio where Grant lived for for some years as a youngster and of which his entrepreneurial father was mayor. His father, Jesse, willing to find promise of more wealth in wake of his son's fame, is also in Bethel. Grant finds many surprises when he comes to Bethel. Planning on staying at an old friend's home, he instead walks into a house of mourning. Five of his Bethel friends had been in the Union Army, been captured and spent varying amounts of time in the hellhole that was Andersonville. All of them have seemed to prosper since the war with large houses, beautifully and expensively furnished. The seemingly accidental death of another, leaves three dead and two others suspect as Grant discovers they had been able to liberate some of the lost Confederate gold and bring it back to Bethel. The mystery of the gold and the murders that follow form the main plot of the story. But Grant's musings on the barbarity of the treatment received by prisoners and allowed by the seemingly courtly Robert E Lee are most interesting. I really, really wanted to like this book. I enjoyed the first, "The Ambush of My Name" and credited weaknesses to the fact that it was a first novel. However, I had to suspend disbelief to accept the situation that put five men from a small village into Andersonville with all of them leaving alive. Grant seemed a rather cardboard character and hardly found a viable solution for the dispersal of the stolen gold. At least, hardly ethical for a man who is aiming for the Presidency. But as many politicians, wealth in the pockets of friends is more important than the overall economy of the country. I understand that since there is a large amount of the Confederate gold that has never been officially found, Marks couldn't change history. He, however, didn't do the character of Grant much good. The diaries of Jefferson Davis, which were supposedly found with the gold, were never mentioned again either. In the long run, they would have been more valuable than the gold. All in all, a disappointing second installment in this series which has so much promise. I will just hope that the third book is much better. Still Buckeyes (i.e. Ohioans), Civil War buffs as well as those who like mysteries involving real American heroes should find enough in this book to keep them satisfied.
Reviewed by Doris Ann Norris, December 2002
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