cover image CHICKAHOMINY FEVER: A Civil War Mystery

CHICKAHOMINY FEVER: A Civil War Mystery

Ann McMillan, . . Viking, $22.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-670-03107-8

The latest installment in this well-regarded Civil War series, featuring war nurse Narcissa Powers and former slave and herbal healer Judah Daniels, marks a big jump in McMillan's storytelling ability over her previous entry, Civil Blood (2001). In June 1862, as the Seven Days Battle rages mere miles outside the besieged Confederate capital of Richmond, Va., Narcissa attends to the wounded filling the cots of the Chimborazo pavilion hospital where she volunteers. A "shiver and burn" contagion spreads among the populace, while Jefferson Davis himself observes about the Chickahominy, "It's not much of a river, but with all the rain we've been having, it makes quite a swamp." This backdrop sets the scene for a brilliant series of puzzles, from much-needed morphine missing from the hospital to a "dead" patient who up and disappears. The crucial suspense angle draws on historical fact—an apparent slave placed by a local abolitionist in Davis's household operating as a spy. Union sympathizers are desperate to get a stolen set of plans showing Richmond's defensive weaknesses to the other side. Within a masterful framing device centered on the stolen plans, the author offers homespun, home-front details (such as a quilt being used as a signal among the spies) while developing her heroine's continuing saga. The depth of commentary on allegiances and "homeland security" nicely captures the confusion of people caught up in war. (Apr.)