Locust Alley: A Novel of the Civil War

Set in Civil War Richmond, this murder mystery is an enjoyable read. The people and places ring true as far as the period and the story keeps you reading. I'm typically not a mystery reader but the setting intrigued me and I wasn't disappointed in the least. Give it a try.

Mr. Evans has given us a thrilling story about the underbelly of Richmond during the last year of the Civil War. The story is an intricate ensemble piece with characters as diverse as prostitutes, assassins, wandering, disfigured vets, a Yankee POW and historical figures such as Jeb Stuart and Robert E. Lee. Their stories are intertwined masterfully like a historical version of Robert Altman's "Nashville." We get the high and the low, in Locust Alley. The gore and the glory, and all of it is presented with a keen eye for human detail (as opposed to the merely historical detail, which, to me, often comes across as showing off). The novel focuses on Rand, a vet-turned-police officer obsessed with solving a grisly murder case in a town that is being swallowed up by war and corruption. Rand also has one arm, and has his only hand full trying to protect a beautiful prostitute, a would-be victim of a maniacal and terrifying killer. Can a broken man and a fallen woman find a semblence of love under such circumstances? That's the heart of the novel, and the ending packs a wallop to boot.

This is not so much a book about the War but about people, and a rich pallete of personalities it offers, from a cold-eyed predatory asassin out to kill Robert E. Lee to the proverbial prostitute with a heart of gold. In between you meet the ordinary folk of war-time Richmond doing their best to survive the last year of the war, corrupt police and government officials, a rabid rebel-hating Ulric Dahlgren, Jeb Stuart's high-spirited troopers, an unlikely ally dragged out of Libby Prison to aid the hero in his quest to find the assasin and a host of other colorful characters of all pedigrees (or lack thereof). Richmond is described colorfully (you can almost hear the racket in the streets and smell the mud and cigar smoke) with an ironic eye that catches the humor in nearly every situation that emerges from the pages. Characters are richly developed with dialogue that would do Larry MacMurtry proud. As you'd want from any mystery, there are lots of surprises and more than a few moments of nerve-wringing suspense. I read a lot of historical fiction and this is a writer I'd love to hear from again.

Don Evans' "Locust Alley" is a good read for Civil War buffs as well as casual students of the epic war and its time period. Impeccably researched, the novel's plot not only provides a decent mystery to vex the brain, but also gives an unadorned snapshot of Richmond, Va., during the war. A great book for a beach weekend or a rainy day, "Locust Alley" is nevertheless not for the faint-hearted or puritanical. Evans tells of Civil War-era soldiers and sleazeballs, prostitutes and profiteers, without holding back. Overall, a very thoroughly researched mystery written well.