Murder at Gettysburg

by Leslie Wheeler

When author and historian Miranda Lewis accepts an invitation from her old college roommate and her roommate's father, a handsome, courtly Virginian, to attend the reenactment of the Gettysburg Battle over the Fourth of July weekend, she hopes to recapture the magic of the long-ago summer she spent with them. But the jaunt down memory lane turns into a nightmare when her roommate's estranged husband, Wiley, a hardcore Confederate reenactor, is shot in the leg and dies of a heart attack while reenacting Pickett's Charge. Wiley's death begins to look suspicious when a large amount of money is found on the shooter, a fellow reenactor, after he flees the scene on his motorcycle and is mowed down by a truck. Also, the victim had no known history of heart trouble. Concerned for her grieving friend, who blames herself for her husband's death, Miranda sets out to discover the truth. As she plunges into the strange and sometimes scary world of Civil War reenactors, she uncovers a string of betrayals that have resulted in mayhem and ultimately murder. The revelations force Miranda to shed certain cherished illusions about people and events of both the past and the present, and to risk her own life to uncover a cunning killer. Leslie Wheeler, a descendant of Union general George B. McClellan and a self-confessed Civil War buff, is the author of a previous mystery, Murder at Plimoth Plantation . She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband, son, and cat.

Genres: Mystery

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2005

Reviews

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in 2007 by Worldwide Library (Worldwide Mystery).
Originally Published in 2005.

Historian Miranda Lewis has been invited to a Gettysburg re-enactment on the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3) by her old college roommate, Ginny. She accepts for two reasons - she wants to see her old friend and she has a serious crush on her friend's father, a retired judge and amateur historian who will also be there. She has been nursing this crush since she was 19 years old and he took her on a tour of the battlefield and taught her all about the battle.

Things get complicated, though, when Ginny's estranged husband Wiley shows up. He is a hardcore Civil War Confederate reenactor, the sort of man who starves himself to the point of being ill just to look more authentic. The sort of man who decorates his personal vehicle (called the "Battlemobile") with little plastic Civil War army men. Wiley has been gone on the reenactor circuit for a while, traveling from place to place and never checking back in with his family.

Even worse, Ginny's old college boyfriend comes to the reenactment looking for her. And, Wiley's friend Dred Davis is lingering around, with his menacing attitude.

But, when Wiley gets shot during the reenactment of Pickett's Charge and then dies of a heart attack things are just starting to get complicated...

Worldwide Mystery, the publisher of this book is a big publishing house you have probably never heard of. They are in imprint of...

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[Terri · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, a 40-something (Miranda) gets a call from a college classmate (Ginny) who wants her to come stay for a while. Miranda, who has a current boyfriend goes, but has a secondary agenda in that she has always had a crush on her classmate's father. Ginny has troubles with her husband, and has a boyfriend, too. The husband will 'do anything' to get his wife back, but in the meantime also has a girlfriend (who's a bit nutty). Miranda keeps getting upset because the father doesn't pay enough attention to her. This is all mixed in with Civil War reenactors. One old boy friend of Miranda's starts off as an EMT (who participates in the reenaction as a doctor), who later says he is a policeman, who in the end turns out to be an AFT agent. A replica (toy) musket turns out to be an assault rifle, and no one notices until it's taken out of newspaper wrappings.

Stilted writing, no continuity in the very convoluted story, don't like the characters. Definitely goes on my list for not-to-read-again authors.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this is the second book in the series, I ended up reading it third - got them mixed up on the shelves. I thought it was the best written of the three, and I appreciated the exploration of racial tensions between civil war reenactors - a topic that is both timely and still relevant in spite of the book being more than a decade old. Sadly, it doesn't seem like she's writing the series any longer, which is quite unfortunate, as I've enjoyed this mystery series. It's not as in depth as some, and it's not as cheesy as others. It's a good representation of the precursor to the cozy mysteries commonly published today.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good solid work. Possibly more exciting to a history buff or historical reenactor than to me, but a good read nevertheless.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Murder at Gettysburg" combines an intriguing contemporary mystery and civil war history. Set during a re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg, it's a gripping read for mystery buffs.

Miranda Lewis, author and historian, is largely looking forward to spreading some time with her old college roommate, Ginny Crawford Cross and her father, Randall Longford. Miranda remembers Randall as a courtly, silver-haired southern gentleman, and (she barely wants to admit it) had a crush on him all those years ago. When Ginny's estranged husband Wiley, a hardcore re-enactor, dies during a re-enactment of Pickett's Charge, Miranda is drawn into the world of re-enactors.

While the author does a fine job with telling a suspenseful tale and using the Gettysburg setting to advantage, it is her characters that are outstanding. She doesn't paint them in black or white, but shades the conflicted feelings they have, and the range of traits of the individuals. I'll be looking for more books by this author.

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a combination of a suspenseful mystery, seamlessly inserted information on re-enactors and the history of Gettysburg, and characters to care about!

A 'rule' of murder mysteries is that a victim/body appears immediately. I was seventy pages into Murder at Gettysburg before I realized I didn't want any of the characters I'd met to die!!! But someone does, and there are just too many possible suspects for me to decide!!!

My only problem with this book, was I'd vote to make it longer so I could spend more time with all the characters.

A really good mystery with a solution unexpected until the very end. Perfect!

[Lauren S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, which had some interesting twists, although it was a little slow to get started. I know a few reenactors but am unfamiliar with the world, which seems fascinating. A different way to integrate history into mystery. I look forward to reading more by this author.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good cozy mystery. The identity of the murderer is not too hard to figure out. But, the book is a fun read.