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When the Levee Breaks
Past and present collide in a riveting tale of espionage, greed, and the high price of secrets buried beneath blood and gold.
In the midst of the tumultuous American Civil War, the discovery of Montana gold in 1861 caught the attention of both the Union and the Confederacy. The precious metal, with its promise of immense wealth, became a tantalizing target for the warring factions, each seeking to bolster their financial resources and fuel their relentless war machines. Amidst this chaos, Mary Margaret Mills, a seasoned expert in the art of espionage, found herself at a breaking point, embittered by the senseless and never-ending bloodshed that surrounded her. With a heavy heart and unwavering determination, she took matters into her own hands, embarking with two Union Scouts, Aaron Gregory and Jonny Jones, on a thrilling yet perilous steamboat chase from Montana to Missouri in order to shape the course of history.
One-hundred sixty years later, Mary Margaret’s great, great, great, granddaughter, Samantha (Sam) Gregory fought her own battles, far from the comforting presence of her only child, Paul. Like her father, Chance Gregory, Sam had carved out a successful career in the global mining industry, her education and expertise earning her a formidable reputation. Yet, despite her triumphs, an unseen force haunted her, casting an ominous shadow over her every move. Unease washed over Sam when she received the news that her father had been gravely injured and that she was urgently required back home.
With a sense of inescapable destiny, Sam returned to the place that held her deepest fears and most painful memories. As she stood atop the hill overlooking the river, she gazed out over the intimidating sight below. Stretching across a vast expanse of three acres, a colossal excavation yawned open. It’s depths plunging five stories below the earth's surface, the vast remote dig site was enormous and dangerously close to the wide river's southern levee. In that moment, as the weight of her past and the uncertainty of her future collided, Sam knew that she had no choice but to move forward with her rag-tag crew of misfits and confront her nightmares head-on in an attempt to unearth the secrets buried deep within the dig site and set free the shrouded forces trapped within her very own soul.
Unravel the past, uncover the truth, and feel the ground shake beneath you. Get your copy today and discover what happens when secrets refuse to stay buried.
In the midst of the tumultuous American Civil War, the discovery of Montana gold in 1861 caught the attention of both the Union and the Confederacy. The precious metal, with its promise of immense wealth, became a tantalizing target for the warring factions, each seeking to bolster their financial resources and fuel their relentless war machines. Amidst this chaos, Mary Margaret Mills, a seasoned expert in the art of espionage, found herself at a breaking point, embittered by the senseless and never-ending bloodshed that surrounded her. With a heavy heart and unwavering determination, she took matters into her own hands, embarking with two Union Scouts, Aaron Gregory and Jonny Jones, on a thrilling yet perilous steamboat chase from Montana to Missouri in order to shape the course of history.
One-hundred sixty years later, Mary Margaret’s great, great, great, granddaughter, Samantha (Sam) Gregory fought her own battles, far from the comforting presence of her only child, Paul. Like her father, Chance Gregory, Sam had carved out a successful career in the global mining industry, her education and expertise earning her a formidable reputation. Yet, despite her triumphs, an unseen force haunted her, casting an ominous shadow over her every move. Unease washed over Sam when she received the news that her father had been gravely injured and that she was urgently required back home.
With a sense of inescapable destiny, Sam returned to the place that held her deepest fears and most painful memories. As she stood atop the hill overlooking the river, she gazed out over the intimidating sight below. Stretching across a vast expanse of three acres, a colossal excavation yawned open. It’s depths plunging five stories below the earth's surface, the vast remote dig site was enormous and dangerously close to the wide river's southern levee. In that moment, as the weight of her past and the uncertainty of her future collided, Sam knew that she had no choice but to move forward with her rag-tag crew of misfits and confront her nightmares head-on in an attempt to unearth the secrets buried deep within the dig site and set free the shrouded forces trapped within her very own soul.
Unravel the past, uncover the truth, and feel the ground shake beneath you. Get your copy today and discover what happens when secrets refuse to stay buried.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 9, 2025
22 people are currently reading
1834 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 29, 2025
This was a Goodreads giveaway book. This is a good initial book by the author.
It is a dual timeline story about events in the Civil War and the modern day. The Civil War portion was more engaging for me.
It is a dual timeline story about events in the Civil War and the modern day. The Civil War portion was more engaging for me.
June 11, 2025
Past and present collide indeed. What a wild ride between steamboat journey, spies, the Confederate era, to present day family loosing their land due to long ago buried history and greed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book that was an ARC for me through this app. Interesting story line that keeps you reading well into the wee hours. Weaving between past and present forever at the edge of your seat for all that is going on. Proves family history can be exciting when there are things left behind to tell the stories and the people too.
September 26, 2025
I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this book. It felt like there was unrealistic emotions for the characters, like they were connecting in ways they shouldn’t. For instance, Paul was really sad and crying when visiting his family’s graves but he hadn’t been told any details about their deaths or met anyone from his extended family. I liked the storyline but there was no character development.
Thanks for letting me read your book!
Thanks for letting me read your book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2025
I loved this book. A beautiful love story, as well as a rip-roaring war picture and poignant tale about memory and history. This was clearly a great work of detailed research and a labour of love for the author. If you're as fascinated with the Civil War as I am, you will surely get a lot out of this great work.
May 29, 2025
An epic and thrilling tale!
Oh wow! This book was a thrilling blend of Civil War intrigue and modern-day mystery! With spies, gold, family secrets, and a haunted past, this story kept me hooked from the river chase to the final dig. Fast-paced, emotional, and full of surprises-- I couldn't put it down!
Oh wow! This book was a thrilling blend of Civil War intrigue and modern-day mystery! With spies, gold, family secrets, and a haunted past, this story kept me hooked from the river chase to the final dig. Fast-paced, emotional, and full of surprises-- I couldn't put it down!
September 25, 2025
A river saga
This is a dual timeline tale of events which began during the Civil War on the Missouri River. Themes of patriotism, greed, and love for family and friends continue throughout the novel.
This is a dual timeline tale of events which began during the Civil War on the Missouri River. Themes of patriotism, greed, and love for family and friends continue throughout the novel.
September 7, 2025
Pretty good. I liked the addition of the photos!
October 9, 2025
Pretty confusing. At the end during levee breakage very repetitive a d boring. I had to skim it.
August 10, 2025
I really tried, but this book is just exhausting. Everything is the most important, the most significant, the most meaningful thing, and every sentence is packed as full of details as possible.
Another editing pass would have helped catch some grammatical errors. The author generally tried to use language from the time period but also used the term African American multiple times, a term that was very much not true until the 14th amendment and not in use until much later.
The author over-uses descriptors. Everything has two adjectives and I'm not sure if any sentence is less than ten words. About a third of the book was redundant description (e. g. "Long, orderly line of 24...") or unnecessary commas. Characters rarely "said" anything without a description of their tone or a simultaneous action. Instead of introducing a person directly, the author describes them in the middle of an action, like "The skipper, a large man with a shock of silver hair and a weathered face, spotted the group and hurried to the forward gangway to greet them." That's also where a bunch of grammatical errors come in, commas and apostrophes that shouldn't be where they are because the author tried to stuff too many descriptors into every sentence.
The author took all of the advice in English class and turned it up to eleven.
Another editing pass would have helped catch some grammatical errors. The author generally tried to use language from the time period but also used the term African American multiple times, a term that was very much not true until the 14th amendment and not in use until much later.
The author over-uses descriptors. Everything has two adjectives and I'm not sure if any sentence is less than ten words. About a third of the book was redundant description (e. g. "Long, orderly line of 24...") or unnecessary commas. Characters rarely "said" anything without a description of their tone or a simultaneous action. Instead of introducing a person directly, the author describes them in the middle of an action, like "The skipper, a large man with a shock of silver hair and a weathered face, spotted the group and hurried to the forward gangway to greet them." That's also where a bunch of grammatical errors come in, commas and apostrophes that shouldn't be where they are because the author tried to stuff too many descriptors into every sentence.
The author took all of the advice in English class and turned it up to eleven.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews