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Rating: 
Summary: This book is treat for Civil War buffs
Review: I often wonder where writers find the courage to write a series of books with the same lead characters....especially when the plots are so marvelously crafted, and the characters so well-developed from the very beginning. How can they possibly equal, much less surpass, what they have already done?.... "Dead March," Ann McMillan's first Civil War novel set in Richmond, was a gem; "Angel Trumpet," the sequel, intriguing in a completely different way, and extremely well researched. "Civil Blood?" Well....I have been waiting with eager anticipation, and some trepidation for the third book: "Civil Blood." Was three times in a row asking for too much? Could she do it? You better believe it!....Again, McMillan does her research and the characters jump out at us from the pages of this intriguing mystery. We are there with them in 19th century Virginia, and just as we think we have it all figured out...she proves us wrong. (And we are glad of it....)Here's to Ms. McMillan's fourth book in the series! (I think I'll place a back order for that one NOW....so she'll get busy and write it....Just have to wait for her to give it a title.....)
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Series
Review: I really enjoy this series and it is one of the better-written ones going today. This one takes place in the late spring of 1862 and there are outbreaks of smallpox occurring requiring some patients to be quarantined. When one of those patients dies with Narcissa at his side, he whispers something to indicate that there might be some money circulating with the smallpox virus contaminiating it. Narcissa is put in charge of containing that outbreak and, along with Judah Daniel, works to do that while also solving the mystery of how that money came into circulation. This book is a fascinating portrait of Civil War America and the mystery is intriguing as well. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Look out! Smallpox!
Review: I was dying, ha ha, to read Ms. McMillan's book and got tired of waiting for the paperback, so I ordered online, used, from Amazon.[com] I was not disappointed. Her Civil War mystery series is getting more in depth.
This time the story seemed to focus more on Narcissa and less on Judah; it seems like the last book had more of Judah and less Narcissa; which I suppose is as it should be. Poor Brit Wallace isn't mentioned in the attempts to get you to interested in these mysteries (jacket cover, publisher summaries, etc)---however, as the newspaperman from Britain in Richmond, he is just as much a "detective" as the other two.
I kept going back and forth between Brit and Cameron Archer; which would be the better suitor for Narcissa? Theres plenty of tentative romance to keep us on tenterhooks for a few more books; do we have to wait that long?
The story does have more of the hospital and nursing aspects; we learn about smallpox in the city of Richmond and the possible threat of an outbreak when a contaminated jacket is stolen.
Ms. McMillan kept me guessing but I was grateful that I could actually figure out "whodunit" before she let us in on it.
Isn't that the goal of every mystery reader? To figure it out before the author lets you in?
Anyways. Very good. She has a way of writing that makes you feel like you're really there. I don't know what it is. Thats why I was a bit out of sorts at the end---I thought it ended abruptly.
Is that another typicality of a mystery series?
Looking forward to buying a used hardback of the next book! :)
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant mystery of substance
Review: In 1862 the American Civil War heats up with the Northern Army nearing the Confederate capital of Richmond. However, a greater threat to the lives of military in the area and the citizens of Richmond occurs when small pox is the cause of a death. Soon other deaths and accusations of germ warfare follow. Southern nurse Narcissa Powers, English reporter Brit Wallace, and former slave healer Judah Daniel look for the source of the deadly disease. As they separately dig deeper, each one shares the findings with the other. No segment of the city from the elite to the slums or of the two armies escape their evaluation as the trio tries to prevent an epidemic from happening. Fans of Civil War novels will, upon reading CIVIL BLOOD, play trumpets in tribute to the author for an entertaining historical who-done-it. The story line starts off very powerfully as a vividly graphic opening hooks the audience while introducing the lead characters. The tale slows down a bit during the investigation because the key players literally exchange notes from their respective interviews even though that technique smoothly blends into the main theme. However, the story line ends with an incredible finish that will fully satisfy the audience, sending them marching to the nearest bookstore to purchase Ann McMillan�s previous historical mysteries. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant mystery of substance
Review: Smallpox breaks out in an American city. The country is at war, and the ethics of combat in question. Has the horrid disease been loosed intentionally? And by which side? Have children been enlisted in this war? The plot lines in "Civil Blood" could be lifted from today's headlines, but this is a mystery about Civil War Richmond (published months before 9/11/01). For all its eerie relevance to the present, this book is rooted unerringly in its era. Ann McMillan's well-drawn characters never warp out of the 1800s. They deal with the anguish of their own war and their own time. A mystery of substance. Another brilliant installment in McMillan's series.
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