The Fairness of Beasts

In this third entry of LaSalle’s sweeping Widow Walk historical series (after Isthmus), the Civil War rushes down on Emmy Evers and her family, pulling them unexpectedly in different directions. Emmy is in Washington, D.C., with her two children, mourning the deaths of her late husband and father in the war. When she receives word that her beau, Dr. Rory Brett, has been caught fighting for the Union army in Confederate Virginia, Emmy uses her brother-in-law’s contacts to smuggle herself into Virginia to find Rory, leaving her troubled children in the care of her strict sister, Kathleen. While Emmy risks her life to find Rory, Kathleen takes Emmy’s children to New York, where they run away from her after she tries to have Emmy’s young son committed to an asylum. And unbeknownst to them all, Rory has been going through struggles of his own that even Emmy won’t be able to save him from. LaSalle’s vivid novel illustrates Civil War–era America in rich detail—the battles, politics, philosophies, and characters—but the pacing suffers at first as the pieces of the narrative chessboard are set up. Fans of the series will be happy with the cliffhanger ending that sets the stage nicely for another novel. (Oct.)