White Rose

If you enjoy civil war books, you will enjoy this one. The beautiful white actress, adept at costuming and makeup changes, was asked to spy for the union. Her father and brother had been killed and her youngest brother Matt was missing while fighting for the union. Lucinda became a black maid to countess arabella, a sadistic, amoral woman who would resort to murder and torture to help the south. 'Sukey''s assignment is to identify the confederate agent known and the silver fox. Cole Sinclair, a childhood friend, doesn't recognize Lucinda as 'sukey' while he spys for the south and has an intimate relationship with the evil bella. Sukey is forced to shoot Cole to save his life and of course he comes to hate her. The best part of this book (5) is the excellent research of the historical data. The story (3) itself is good but lacks a little clarity and depth. Lucy has adored Cole all her life, but we don't really know why. Her role as a spy is good and she is tenacious, "A smart Scarlet" but she does require a lot of saving from time to time. Written in 1980, this 400 page novel has much to recommend it esp for 25 yrs ago when information was so difficult to obtain.