The Search

Across the Great Divide #2

by Michael L. Ross

Where do you go when home is no longer an option?

The guns of the Civil War have ceased firing, and the shots are but an echo... yet the war rages on, deep inside Will Crump's soul. His soldier's heart is searching for peace, and in that quest Will joins the westward movement, setting his path on a collision course with adventure, loss, and love.

The Westward Expansion floods the sacred, untouched lands with immigrants, bringing conflict to the Shoshone, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Amidst the chaos Will finds safety in the shadow of the US Army, but the army brings battle-hardened troops into Red Cloud's War, pulling Will into a tornado of conflict. Broken treaties and promises leave both sides searching for answers. Will's search leads him to a battle for survival, and there he finds a love that could change him forever.

Dove, a young Shoshone woman, is a survivor of the Bear Creek Massacre. After being kidnapped and escaping from the Cheyenne, she joins Will's search, seeking where she belongs. Dove longs for more than the restricted role placed on women in her tribe. If she can learn to trust a white man, he just might help her find home... and hope.

Together, Will and Dove must search for understanding, and reach Across the Great Divide.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2020

About the author

Michael Ross is a lover of history and great stories. He’s a retired software engineer turned author, with three children, and five grandchildren, living in Newton, Kansas with his wife of 42 years. Michael graduated from Rice University and Portland State University with degrees in German and software engineering. He was part of an MBA program at Boston University. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, and still loves Texas. He’s written short stories and technical articles in the past, as well as articles for the Texas Historical Society. Across the Great Divide now has three novels in the series, “The Clouds of War”, “The Search”, and “The Founding”. The series has won many awards and positive reviews, including Silver Medal Book of the Year from the Coffee Pot Book Club (The Search), Honorable Mention Book of the Year (Clouds of War), Five Star Firebird award, Five Star Chanticleer International Book award, shortlisted for the Chanticleer Laramie award 2021, and Publisher’s Weekly positive review. Clouds of War was an Amazon #1 best seller in three categories in 2019. Most recently, The Founding has won a five-star review from The Historical Fiction Company.

Reviews

[Theodene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I agree to review a book before I’ve really read what the book’s about. I put trust in the cover and a quick glimpse of the book description. Let me tell you, I was definitely not disappointed in my choice to review this book! I mean, WOW!

Will Crump, a former Confederate soldier, finds himself trying to leave everyone he knows to escape his nightmares about the war where he lost many he knows. He was also imprisoned and doesn’t hope to experience any of that again. Will finds himself trying to head west, using the forts along the way for safety and to load up on supplies.

Little does he expect to run into a Shoshone Indian woman face to face with a bear! Will comes to her rescue and decides he needs to care for her to make sure she heals from her injuries. When they end up at Leavenworth, he finds a man who speaks her language and they’re able to communicate. Dove, the Shoshone Indian woman, was captured by another tribe and her captor was killed by the bear. Dove finds Will constantly looking after her.

Will promises to help Dove return to her tribe. They actually fall in love along the way while they both go through some near death experiences. What will happen when Will finally gets Dove to meet up with her tribe and family? Will he be accepted and finally be able to marry Dove?

A digital copy of Across the Great Divide: The Search by Michael L Ross was provided by The Coffee Club Book Club. I give this book 5 out of 5 tiaras because I was quickly drawn into the story and I just couldn’t put it down! There are so many twists that pull the reader into the story that it’s easy to feel like you’re right there with Will and Dove!

[Mary Yarde · Rating 5 out of 5]

“How could he ever forget and pretend his life was normal?”

The Civil War had left its scars—not all of which could be seen. Will Crump craved peace. Peace from the nightmares which plagued him while he slept, but also while he was awake. Will knows he will never find peace amongst the familiar faces of his family, and so he packs up his life and heads for the mountains, hoping that there he will find the peace he needs. What he had not counted on was the unrest between the United States Army and the native population.

Will finds himself thrust into a conflict he neither foresaw nor wanted. But this time he is not just fighting for a flag and independence, he is fighting for the woman he is falling hopelessly in love with…

The Search (Across the Great Divide Book 2) by Michael L. Ross is a novel that does not threaten to mesmerise, it really does.

Riddled with survivor’s guilt because of what happened at Buffington Island and brought to his knees with grief for those who had died at Camp Douglas, Will is a man living on the edge. He desperately searches for words of comfort in the Bible, and he prays endlessly to God to stop the pain, but he is met with only a cold silence. So he chooses to try to outrun his past, leaving everything familiar behind him. He convinces himself that he will find peace in the mountains. Unfortunately, with the growing tension between the US Army and the native population, Will finds himself confronted with yet another war. I thought Will’s depiction was absolutely sublime. Ross has depicted Will’s extremely fragile mental health with a clear understanding of what we would now know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. With no mental health help, Will must look inwards to drag himself out of the abyss of misery and guilt that is slowly destroying him. Will’s determination and his struggle to find the peace he so desperately desires and deserves saw me reaching for the tissues on more than one occasion. There is an honesty to Will’s character, which made him not only exceedingly likeable, but also profoundly real in the telling. On a side-note, although based upon an actual historical person, William Dorsey Crump (1844–1940), Ross admits in his historical notes that his portrayal of Will during this period is fictional, as there are no primary sources that explain what he was doing during this period of his life.

The other protagonist is the beautiful Dove, the niece of Chief Washakie. In this novel, Dove struggles to understand her feelings for Will—he is a white man and therefore her enemy. Having survived the butchering at Bear River, it is no wonder as to why she holds these views. But she cannot deny that Will had saved her life and continues to do so. I thought Dove’s depiction was truly fabulous. She is this strong woman who knows that what she has found with Will is true love, but there are so many obstacles set between them that being together seems next to impossible. But still, she insists and is determined to find a compromise between her beliefs and Will’s. I adored Dove. She is this marvelously rounded heroine who has seen her fair share of death, but she holds onto hope, and she cherishes the love which she discovers with Will. Dove was a character that I came to care deeply about.

Race and conflict are explored in all of their ugly details throughout this novel. Ross not only examines the violent clash of two profoundly different cultures, but he also scrutinizes the impact of a swiftly changing world to the Indian population. The greed for land and the natural resources this rich and unspoilt frontier had to offer was more important than the lives of those who lived there. The white settlers, and in particular the army, saw the native population as a savage nuisance that must be dealt with. The Bear Rivers Massacre is briefly mentioned in this novel, as is the US Army’s determination to mount an expedition into Powder River Country. But what I found especially sickening was the soldiers’ excitement about their vile orders to kill Indians on sight–no quarter was to be given. This government-backed genocide made for some sobering reading. What made a bad situation even worse was that the natives, who were still trying to hold on to their way of life, still insisted on fighting each other. Ross subtly asks his readers were the native American’s any different from their white brothers? The white settlers claimed land that did not belong to them, but the Indians fought to preserve their territories. In no way does Ross condone the genocide and abject cruelty and brutality which the natives faced, he does however try to show his readers a few small similarities between the two.

Another race-related topic which Ross depicts is that of interracial romance. Will and Dove’s relationship is very tender and sweet. But they both come from two vastly different worlds. They are realistic about the difficulties which their relationship would face. Dove is keenly aware that she would never fit into the white man’s world, and that Will would never give up his God to fit into hers. This ill-fated love was exquisitely told, and I was rooting for them to find the happiness that they both deserved.

Ross has explored the unpredictability of nature, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Nature is the physical frontier which dictates not only the narrative but also the war between the US Army and the natives. It is the driving force that brings Will and Dove together, but it is also what nearly tears them apart. Ross has given his readers a setting that is on the one hand breathtakingly beautiful but on the other is thwarted with danger. It also fascinated me how the Indians used the knowledge of the land to their own advantage.

Ross has penned a novel that is as impressive in its sweep as it is in detail. Ross has a large canvas in which to tell his story, and he has done so with the utmost care to the attention of the historical detail while leaving out none of the historical controversies. The treatment of the native population and their retaliation has been explored with a keen understanding of this period in history. At times the tension in this story is almost unbearable as our brave protagonists' battle, not only to stay alive but to stay together in a world that wants to tear them apart. Ross has brought a very tragic but very fascinating era back to life in a story which is so brilliant that it is impossible to turn away from.

Unlike before in The Clouds of War (Across the Great Divide: Book 1) where there were multiple points of view, in The Search the story is focused on Will and Dove. I thought this was a wise move, as Will and Dove’s story is utterly enthralling, and it also means that this book stands firmly on its own two feet. One certainly does not have to read the first book at all to enjoy The Search.

The Search (Across the Great Divide Book 2) by Michael Ross is a novel which gripped me from the opening sentence to the last full stop. It is, in all ways, an absolute triumph.

I Highly Recommend.

Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.

[Oh Look,AnotherBook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should come with a warning, or better still a free box of Kleenex with every copy sold. This book shattered me - my husband is getting very concerned about the emotional effect some books have on my mental health, but I know a book is truly wonderful when it breaks my heart. I am sure the author must have also shed a few tears as the conclusion to this novel comes to an unexpected and dramatic end.

Will Crump, whose story we follow is a wonderfully drawn protagonist. Will was a character who my heart broke for. His is a broken man because of the Civil War, and he is afraid of himself-his thoughts, feelings, and lack of control when he suffers terrible flashbacks about the war and his time as a prisoner, means that he makes the painful decision to leave his family and head for the mountains. I think Ross has really demonstrated his empathetic understanding of what such turmoil can do to someone like Will. Likewise, I really enjoyed reading about Dove. Dove has also suffered terribly, but unlike Will, Dove is determined to live her life and be as true to herself as she can, and for that reason I could not help but admire her.

The Search is a very vibrant, very emotional story about the utterly disgraceful government-backed genocide of the Native American population in the latter half of the 19th Century. To be forced from your homes, to lose the land of your forefathers to the thieving white men is utterly abhorrent. Michael Ross has really demonstrated just how desperate the situation was, and although the narrative focuses primarily from the American army's point of view, Ross does not let his readers forget what it must have been like for the natives during this volatile time in their history. The soldiers were seemingly spoiling for a fight. Although there are incidents where the Indians lay traps for the soldiers, the soldiers were, after all, the foreign invaders. Although the native's actions may have seemed brutal, especially the scalping, it was no more barbaric than attacking a village while the inhabitants were still asleep. Greed - it has a lot to answer for.


I was lucky to actually be given a copy of the audio version of this novel. I quite enjoy audiobooks because I can put on my headphones and listen to my heart's content while I am out running or relaxing in the bath - it is actually much the safer option as I am always dropping books in the bath!! But I am getting off the point. I thought Joshua Young did a magnificent job bringing this story to life. Each word was deliberate and measured-Joshua obviously knew this book inside out, which came across in his reading. The gentle timbre of his voice was soothing and was precisely the kind of narrative that this book deserved.

I thought this novel was brilliant from start to finish. I am so glad I was introduced to the work of Michael Ross. This certainly will not be the last book of his that I read.

*I received my audio copy of this book from The Coffee Pot Book Club for review consideration.

[Sophie Schiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Across the Great Divide, Book II: The Search is a novel about relationships—how to nurture them and how to let them go. Will Crump is a man in search of peace. A Civil War veteran and a survivor of Shiloh, he is haunted by his past and by a shameful incident. In search of a new beginning, he sets out West for Fort Connor across Nebraska, but is waylaid by a Shoshone woman named Dove who he rescues from an enemy kidnapper. This theme repeats itself throughout the novel as Will attempts to deliver Dove back to her people. It may be that Will is subconsciously trying to resolve his own estrangement from his family. Clinging together against the elements, they enter into a marriage of convenience of sorts. At times his relationship with Dove is tender; other times it is guarded. Dove has a fickle and moody nature, which occasionally leads to their estrangement. The novel’s main idea is uttered by Gabe, the mountain man they befriend: “If a woman hates you, not much gonna change her mind. If she’s feeling neglected and jealous, but cares about you, attention and keeping after her are likely gonna bring the Spring thaw.” Will’s willingness to offer the olive branch to Dove is especially poignant. But a jealous rival steals his peace and Will is forced to move on. In the end, the lesson Will learns is that life is not a destination, but a journey, and we hope he finds the answers to his questions when he reaches the end of the trail. A great read!

[Danielle Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when I read a book's first pages I can tell right away if I'm going to love its style. This one had me hooked on inward turmoil and vivid setting from the beginning. Crump's quest to find himself some peace is turned on its head when he meets a Shoshone woman. Their values and traditions are sometimes the same, but usually contrasted even in the best parts of each. I like that they stay true to themselves and also find comfort in each other.

Will Crump's story does not need to be read in order. There are enough details to make him a well-rounded and interesting character without book one. It did not even read like an info dump, as many second books do.

I appreciate very much that the author did meticulous research, consulted with Darren Parry of the Shoshone, and even made a trip out to the site of the Bear River Massacre.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ana Brazil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soon after the end of the Civil War, an emotionally-scared Confederate veteran searches for peace and purpose in the American West. During his travels he confronts his violent past and an aggressively hostile U.S. Army, and crosses paths with many native people, including an injured, isolated Shoshone woman.

The emotional journey in Michael Ross's Across the Great Divide Book II, The Search is balanced with insights by the protagonist Will Crump's Christian beliefs and the native peoples' Great Mystery beliefs. The physical journey makes me want to take a trip on the trail, although many years--decades--later! This well-written, well-paced story is both exciting and thoughtful, and I really enjoyed reading it.

[Whispering Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been a long time since a book has left me utterly speechless. When I turned the last page of The Search, I took a moment to let the events that I had just witnessed between the pages wash over me. I found it impossible to put into words how moving this novel is and so, I went for a walk, hoping to clear my head so I could put pen to paper and give this book the praise that it so deserves.

Set during the latter half of the 19th Century, this story follows Will Crump—an ex-Soldier of The Confederate States Army. Will's life has been shattered by the things he had seen during the war, the things he had done. He is tortured with the guilt of one that survived when so many of his friends had died. In an attempt to hide from the madness that threatens to consume him, Will decides to head to the mountains in the hope that the solitude will help mend the terrible pain that scars his heart so brutally.

Will's journey is heartbreakingly tragic. A sharpshooter who is now terrified of firing a gun, for the noise brings back terrible flashbacks—how could one not sympathise with his situation? Unfortunately for Will, he finds himself thrust into a very different kind of war. This time the guns are aimed at the natives who are daring to fight for the rights to remain on the ancestral lands of their forefathers. Oh, Will, I wept as his story unfolded in front of me. His desperate desire for peace is hampered by the reality of the American Indian Wars, and to make matters worse he finds himself falling in love with a woman from the Shoshone tribe. Dove is a woman he has no right to love for they are from such vastly different words, but what his head says and what his heart demands are two very different things.

This story really broke my heart, but at the same time, it was a story that I could not turn away from. It is such a beautifully drawn story where love and war follow the same despairing path of uncertainty. I was so swept up in the story that time ceased to matter. This is one of those books that once read, can never be forgotten. Without a shadow of a doubt, it is one of the most enthralling books that I have ever read.

If you are looking for a novel filled with romance, suspense, drama, and the heartbreak of war, then this book should definitely be on your to-read list for 2021.

[Leslie K Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Crump's search is for more than a new home out West where no one knows him. His search is for inner peace, meaning and relationships, both terrestrial and divine.

The story follows Will, a moral man, willing to take risks to find what he seeks, after loses his faith in himself in the Civil War and takes a new direction in life. Plagued by his inner demons, in an unfamiliar hostile environment, his limits are tested when he is confronted by former enemies and warring Native communities. As he quests to restore his spiritual health he faces physical and emotional challenges, finds love and tests his limits in confronting the harsh and violent realities of existence in an unfamiliar land.

Rich with atmosphere and action, the Search is an engaging and satisfying read for those who love memorable characters inhabiting a great western.

[Heather Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I immensely enjoyed this novel, even though I've not read the first one in the series (something I'm going to have to remedy). As an author of historical fiction set around the American Civil War as well, I fully appreciated the discussion of how early PTSD in soldiers was treated, and how the men suffering often had to cope by simply escaping. I loved Dove's character, and felt she was a necessary part of Will's journey, as well as providing pertinent parallels to modern day prejudices. I look forward to reading more by Michael Ross!

I received a copy of this book for honest review.

[Rebecca D’Harlingue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at what it might have been like for a veteran of the Civil War to go out West to try to find peace. With the incursions of the whites onto native lands, and the conflicts between the native tribes themselves, peace is not to be found.

Will Crump, the protagonist, does more than just react to his situation. He analyzes the situation, and ponders the right and wrong of what is happening. He is influenced by his love for a Shoshone woman, and he relies on his faith to get him through. A satisfying read about an interesting time and place!

[Brenda E. Mcdaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. And so detailed and descriptive. You could clearly visualize the characters and action. It told the story of a confederate soldier suffering from PTSD. And looking for peace. It also told of the military and Indians after the war. A very easy read. One that keeps your interest throughout. A great read.

[Rebecca Milstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I don't even know where to begin! I have not read the first book in the series, but the way it is written, I don't think it's necessary (though I'm absolutely buying hardcopies of them all). If ever asked to recommend a book that ripped my heart apart, I'll definitely be recommending this!!

[D.K. Marley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Two of 'Across the Great Divide' - 'The Search' by Michael Ross finds the main protagonist, Will Crump, moving west and away from his family and all that he once knew. Crump is escaping from the horrors of the American Civil War, he is a deeply troubled and embittered man. A former serving Confederate soldier, he is seeking to forget the horrors of the Civil War and the brutality of a Union prisoner of War camp. He has lost his family, his home, his friends. His is a classic case of war trauma with all the classic symptoms and the reader's attention needs to be drawn to Ross's first book in the series, outlining and describing his wartime experiences and divided loyalties.

So Will is moving west, away from his past and in search of peace. He hopes to find an untroubled place of peace that he can call his own and where he can perhaps find his God once more. It is a classic set of what must have been very common motives for making such a perilous move. It is in the face of illness and uncertainty and of a vast unknown country [readers will be grateful to the author for providing a map] and of restless and justifiably hostile North American Indians. This is very much the backdrop of his journey and, indeed, the book as a whole. In it are reflected the prejudices and the racial intolerance of the colonists of the time; the widespread seizure of Indian lands, the broken treaties and the ensuing massacres and attempted systematic genocide of entire peoples and outbreaks of fatal diseases for which there were no immunities amongst the native Indian populations.  As the book begins, two events are very fresh in the memory, the massacres of Sand Creek and, in 1863, the massacre at Bear Creek [ in modern day Idaho]. This latter event proves to be of particular significance to Will, as the victims were of the Shoshone people and he is to become very closely linked to them in many significant ways.

Into lands held sacred by the Shoshone, the Sioux, the Cheyenne and the Arapaho comes a flood of eager and expectant migrants; with the army present to protect them and to build forts and outposts as they inexorably move west. Will Crump prudently seeks refuge within the army as a sharpshooter, a skill from his Confederate past, and meets an invaluable friend and ally in the legendary Jim Bridger. Early on he also becomes involved with a young woman. This is Dove. She is of the Shoshone people, her Uncle is Chief, separated from them by circumstance. Having first rescued her, Will becomes determined to bring her safe home to her people. In doing so he falls in love with her and struck and moved by her own beliefs and the sheer force of her determination and abilities, as he himself challenges and rediscovers his lost faith. In taking this decision, they both become irrevocably caught up in the trauma and the perils of the time.

The whole novel is both fast paced and gripping. Ross takes the reader on a breathless journey into the west of the times, the narrative is truly action packed. Along the way we are given insights into army procedure of the time and matters of military protocol. Ross is particularly illuminating on the subject of the habits and practices of the native peoples. We learn, for example, of the Shoshone Creation myth, of why and how the constellations are placed where they are and other matters regarding belief, religion and religious practice, as Crump seeks parallels in his old and battered Bible that he carries with him everywhere, We learn of the hierarchies of each group and, importantly the relation of one in relation to the other with regards to loyalty and enmity, a subject upon which the old scout, Jim Bridger, is eminently qualified to offer advice when it is accepted.

This book is a must for all fans and true devotees of the genre. All the necessary boxes are ticked here; and a wealth of knowledge of time and place besides. Michael Ross is clearly a master of his subject and reveals and displays a deep knowledge and profound natural feel for the time and place. For those new to the subject this provides a valuable and sturdily constructed launching platform for their own researches and discoveries. There are of course plenty of westerns, past and present, available on the market. The world is awash with the subject of the Western, on film, in television serials and in book form. Followers of Michael Ross's work will already be fully aware of the quality and sheer 'readability' of his work. This is the ideal opportunity for the old hand to renew the relationship and for those new to the subject area and seeking to refine the search even closer to select the work of a proven master of the form. The uncertain reader, wavering in making a choice, is in safe hands here.

*****

“The Search” by Michael Ross is awarded four stars by The Historical Fiction Company

[Michael Ross]

Across the Great Divide Book 2 The Search continues the story of Will Crump.
Where do you go when home is no longer an option?

The guns of the Civil War have ceased firing, and the shots are but an echo... yet the war rages on deep inside Will Crump’s soul. His soldier’s heart is searching for peace, and in that quest Will joins the westward movement, setting his path on a collision course with adventure, loss and love.

The Westward Expansion floods the sacred, untouched lands with immigrants bringing conflict to the Shoshone, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Amidst the chaos Will finds safety in the shadow of the US Army, but the army brings battle-hardened troops into Red Cloud’s War, pulling Will into a tornado of conflict. Broken treaties and promises, leave both sides searching for answers. Will’s search leads him to a battle for survival, and there he finds a love that could change him forever.

Dove, a young Shoshone woman, is a survivor of the Bear Creek Massacre. After being kidnapped and escaping from the Cheyenne, she joins Will’s search, seeking where she belongs. Dove longs for more than the restricted role placed on women in her tribe. If she can learn to trust a white man, he just might help her find home... and hope.

Together, Will and Dove must search for understanding and reach Across the Great Divide.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every footstep Kentuckian Will Crump takes on his arduous journey out West in post-Civil War America reminded me of exactly how precarious such travel had been in that period of history. Literally on his own in the wilderness, whoever he comes upon could be a friend or foe.

Suffering from severe PTSD after serving in the Confederate Army and somehow surviving in a POW camp, Will eschews life back home on his sister’s farm in Indiana. Instead he seeks a quiet place in the mountains where he can reclaim a small amount of peace. He comes upon a Shoshone woman named Dove who’s been badly hurt in a bear attack while the prisoner of a warrior from a rival tribe. Out of a sense of obligation, Will decides to help her get home to her people in the Wind River area of current day Wyoming.

Out of necessity, the two quickly form a strong bond as they make their way from fort to fort, enduring one obstacle after another in a land where chaos and violence thrive as white soldiers and members of various Native American tribes clash.

Majestic, yet threatening in every respect, the author paints a fabulous portrait of the landscape in a story where tenuous human ties and the smallest details can save — or end — a human life.