While the plot of this fine novel contains a significant amount of combat, it is primarily a crime story. It’s October, 1861, and Lieutenant John McKittredge of the Twentieth Massachusetts is horribly wounded in battle but miraculously survives, albeit hooked on laudanum. During recuperation, “Kit” is recruited into the Adjutant General corps as an investigator and becomes involved in the seamy underbelly of the Union war effort. He is horrified to learn of the extent of corruption and vice in the upper echelons of both the military and the government. While investigating the murder of a prostitute, he is drawn into graft, drug peddling, and assassination plots.
This story is not for the weak of heart. The combat and hospital scenes are deftly described with brutal clarity. And those who take offense at the accusations of widespread corruption in the Union army may find this book disturbing. But for those willing to consider the darker, unwritten history of the Union war effort, this is a spellbinding, if unsettling work.