Writing under a man’s name, Josephine Breaux is the finest reporter at Washington’s Morning Clarion. Using her wit and charm, she never fails to get the scoop on the latest Union and Confederate activities. But when a rival paper reveals her true identity, accusations of treason fly. Despite her claims of loyalty to the Union, she is arrested as a spy and traitor.
To Josephine’s surprise, she’s whisked away to the White House, where she learns that President Lincoln himself wishes to use her cunning and skill for a secret mission in New Orleans that could hasten the end of the war. For Josephine, though, this mission threatens to open old wounds and expose dangerous secrets. In the middle of the most violent conflict the country has ever seen, can one woman overcome the treacherous secrets of her past in order to secure her nation’s future?
I’ll admit that I find much of American History boring. I’m sure that’s because of the way it was presented school—a dry presentation of facts about dead white guys followed by memorization of a bunch of names and dates that were regurgitated on a multichoice/fill-in-the-blank test. I’m almost certain this is why I’m drawn to historical fiction as they add a bit of life to the dull history presented in a textbook. The Crescent Spy by Michael Wallace is no exception.
Following ousted reporter, Josephine Breaux, back home to Louisiana behind enemy lines added gritty details about the battle between North & South. Of course, Josephine had her own secrets hiding for her in New Orleans and Wallace deftly handles Josephine’s memories of her days as a child on a showboat with her mother weaving it within the narrative her activities for the Union army. Let’s just say you might be humming “Ol’ Man River” while thinking of Ken Burns’s Civil War documentary.
Josephine stands on her own in world where men are dominant. Educated and willing to take a risk (or two) to save the Union, I admire her tenacity and wouldn’t mind reading another novel featuring her and her adventures. Oh, and I did I mention that she likes to read?
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews
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4 September, 2016:
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4 September, 2016:
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