About the Book
Book: River of Peril
Author: Sandra Merville Hart
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release date: October 15, 2024
Amnesia stole his memory, and now he’s fighting for the wrong side.
Orphaned and alone at sixteen, Felicity has found solace in serving others as a volunteer nurse. When she discovers her Confederate soldier beau, Luke Shea, among the wounded in her ward, her worst nightmares come true. Luke’s shrapnel wound has stolen his memory, leaving him with no recollection of their love or his past. As Felicity struggles with the loss of the man she once knew, she turns her attention to the service of her broken country. But the more she learns about the brutal war, the more she realizes she can no longer stay silent. She becomes a Union spy, plunging herself into danger.
When Luke Shae awakes in a hospital with no memory of the last five years, he’s shocked to learn he’s been fighting against the Union he once so strongly supported. And when he learns of his past courtship with his nurse, Felicity, he struggles to understand the man he was and what happened in those missing years. Determined to atone for his Confederate past, Luke also joins the Union cause as a spy.
As danger lurks at every turn, only a Divine hand can not only protect their lives, but give them a second chance for love and the future they both crave.
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About the Author
More from Sandra
“History will never know how indebted it is to folks like you in ending the war.” ~ River of Peril
People spied on their government, their soldiers, and their neighbors during the Civil War. Union spies in the South lived dangerously. Everyday citizens, including enslaved and free black spies, became heroes to speed the war’s end.
Secret messages were sewn into hems, vests, and coats. Cyphered messages were hidden in bodices, hoop skirts, trees, hats, styled hair, books, custard dishes, hollowed-out eggs, and even in vaults with a dead body. Raised/lowered shades and clothes hanging on a line might also be clues for spies.
Some spies were already actors. Others disguised themselves to deliver secrets and to protect their identity. There were female spies who disguised themselves as men. If they could manage to remain anonymous, it saved them from their neighbors’ retaliation during and after the war. This was especially true in the South because the North emerged as victorious.
Many spies were caught during the Civil War and often imprisoned for days or weeks, up to a year. Confederate spies could sign an Oath of Allegiance to the United States to be released from Union prisons. Both sides executed spies.
For reasons already discussed, history doesn’t record most of Mississippi’s spies. Two Mississippi spies, Robbie Woodruff and Philip Henson, didn’t slip into obscurity.
Robbie Woodruff was a courageous farm girl who fetched Confederate messages from town and hid them in a hollow stump for couriers. Philip Henson, one of the Union army’s greatest spies living in the South, was captured and imprisoned for several months.
Key characters are spies for the Union in River of Peril, Book 5 in my Spies of the Civil War Series. The spies in my Vicksburg portion of the series (Books 4 – 6) are fictional. The stories show the type of challenges faced by historical spies.
My research for this novel began with a trip to Vicksburg, Mississippi. I was greatly inspired by the battlefield, the museums, and the people in the historic city. That inspiration—and a whole lot of research!—led to the writing of Streams of Courage, Book 4, River of Peril, Book 5, and Tides of Healing, Book 6.
Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1, is set in the Union capital of Washington City (Washington DC) in 1861, where a surprising number of Confederate sympathizers and spies lived. Boulevard of Confusion and Byway to Danger are set in Richmond, the Confederate capital in 1862. Actual historical spies touch the lives of our fictional family. The heroines in Books 1 – 3 are two sisters and their cousins. Another set of characters begin with Book 4, and three friends are the heroines in Books 4 -6.
Through both real and fictional characters, this series highlights activities spies were involved in and some of the motives behind their decisions.
I invite you to read the whole Spies of the Civil War Series!
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 16
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 17
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 18
Devoted To Hope, October 18
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 19
Texas Book-aholic, October 20
Locks, Hooks and Books, October 21
CONNIE’S HISTORY CLASSROOM, October 22
Betti Mace, October 23
For Him and My Family, October 24
Holly’s Book Corner, October 25
Pause for Tales, October 26
Cover Lover Book Review, October 27
Life on Chickadee Lane, October 28
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, October 29 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, October 29
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5469
My Review
River of Peril is the fifth installment from the Spies of the Civil War by Sandra Merville Hart. I have enjoyed the previous books and this one is no different. I adored Luke and Felicity's story. I loved the element of faith within the pages. It was weaved into the tale that I found to be inspiring. I thought this was a great book to read and could not put it down until I was completely finished.
I am going to give River of Peril five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who love to read clean historical romance, particularly those set during the American Civil War. I would love to continue to read more releases from the talented Sandra Merville Hart in the future.
I received a Sandra Merville Hart's River of Peril from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
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