Reviewer Dr. Wesley Britton: Dr. Britton is the author of four non-fiction books on espionage in literature and the media. Starting in fall 2015, his new six-book science fiction series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles, debuted via BearManor Media.
In 2018, Britton self-published the seventh book in the Chronicles, Alpha Tales 2044, a collection of short stories, many of which first appeared at a number of online venues.
For seven years, he was co-host of online radio’s Dave White Presents where he contributed interviews with a host of entertainment insiders. Before his retirement in 2016, Dr. Britton taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College. Learn more about Dr. Britton at his WEBSITE
Author: Timothy Ashby
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN-10:1456545248 ISBN-13: 978-1456545246
Click Here To Purchase Devil's Den
Author: Timothy Ashby
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN-10:1456545248 ISBN-13: 978-1456545246
The title of this historical novel takes its name from a pivotal location on the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania battlefield. It’s also the place where, in the opening scene, a Civil War veteran is murdered in 1923 for, apparently, something that happened 60 years before. Seth Armitage, and agent of the Bureau of Investigation (forerunner to the FBI) is assigned the case and quickly learns this is no simple murder investigation.
A number of characteristics distinguish this engaging novel. For one matter, author Ashby is splendid at weaving three historical periods together including events during the Civil War, World War I, and contemporary events during the investigation. He does this by creating very memorable scenes and vivid descriptions. For example, when Armitage comes to Gettysburg to begin his hunt, he walks across the field where Pickett’s charge took place and where two of his ancestors died. In his mind, he relives Pickett’s Charge while jumping back-and-forth in time to his own battlefield experiences in France during World War I. This both establishes a background to his own character as well as deepening the theme of the cycles of history. In another section, Armitage relives his time as an undercover agent infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan which, again, gives readers a sense of his law enforcement credentials as well as setting the stage for events later in the book.
This sort of mirroring
occurs with the two conspiracies Armitage finds himself
uncovering—one that took place back in 1963 and another that is
shaping and corrupting the investigation he has undertaken. At the
heart of both is one man—once a Union officer, now a powerful U.S.
Senator pulling the strings of Armitage’s boss. Keeping a watchful
eye on the proceedings is Deputy Director J. Edgar Hoover who has an
agenda of his own. Then there’s the daughter of a murdered vet who
becomes Armitage’s lover, colleague, and a figure of mystery
herself. For good measure, Ashby throws in a young Charles Lindberg
to ferry Armitage to remote American towns in the days before
jet-setting was possible, in the days when finger-printing suspects
is still cutting-edge technology.
Tim Ashby has succeeded in crafting a believable series of settings and characters that take Armitage from Washington D.C. to Leavenworth, Kansas to the deep South while uncovering murders both on and off the battlefield. One can hope that Seth Armitage and that leggy lady of his will return . . .