Ann McMillan's Dead March is the first in what promises to be a series of Civil War-era mysteries as appealing as Anne Perry's historical procedurals. Narcissa Power, a young Virginia widow consigned to a dismal existence in the country home of her sister-in-law, receives an urgent summons from family friends of her beloved brother, Charley. Shortly after she rushes to his side, he dies of a disease that should have caused only a minor infection. The mystery of his death is compounded when Narcissa finds a fragment of a half-burned letter from Charley that someone has hidden in her Bible. Wanting to do right by her brother and avoid returning to the doldrums of her country existence, Narcissa plunges into the turmoil of Richmond in the days between Fort Sumter and the first great battle of the Civil War. A colorful collection of plausible characters gather in the parlors and back alleys of Richmond--a British journalist, a dashing but arrogant young doctor, a cruel overseer, and Judah Daniel, a freedwoman who is also the local herbalist and "conjure woman." Each will be a part of the eventual unraveling of the mystery.

Against the background of a beautiful city in turmoil, clues come fast and furious. The players converge at the hospital and secrets are shaken loose, leading to surprising and satisfying denouement. But relationships are only beginning to develop among the cast, and the reader must wait for McMillan's next volume to learn the outcome. The credible detail and authenticity of setting and scene will captivate those with a renewed interest in the American Civil War, which has been aroused by Cold Mountain and Ken Burns's PBS series. --Barbara Schlieper


From Publishers Weekly
There is much to like and admire in this Civil War mystery debut. In Richmond, Va., in 1861, the coming conflict over secession seems inevitable. Narcissa Powers, whose son died soon after his birth and whose husband succumbed to consumption not long after that, is called from her nearby home to Richmond, where her brother, Charles, is a medical student. She arrives just in time to attend his deathbed and hear some fevered words about "resurrection." A half-burned letter stuck in her Bible provides clues that Charley's death may not have been an accident. Her suspicions gradually fall on his medical teachers and on the practice of "resurrecting" recently buried corpses for medical students to use as cadavers. The sense of social isolation and legal inferiority enforced on women and blacks is forcefully captured as Narcissa circumspectly probes for the truth. Charley's death also troubles a black man whose friend, Judah Daniel, a freed black woman who is a healer and "conjure woman," joins Narcissa in their quiet investigation. This highly auspicious debut is marked by McMillan's dexterous weaving of historical detail into a first-rate mystery plot and by her penetrating analysis of the era's Southern culture. Narcissa's reflections on and dealings with the limitations of gender and race imposed in her milieu are measured, credible and promising for further richly characterized tales in this series. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Shortly before Virginia secedes from the Union, Narcissa Powers, a young widow, attends her brother, a medical student in Richmond, on his deathbed. Then, with help from her sister-in-law and a British journalist, she investigates her brother's allegations that medical school doctors murdered a young black woman so the school would have another specimen for dissection. These "teachers," two "resurrection" men who steal cadavers for the school, and a free black conjure woman are all suspects. An authentic, powerful, and elegantly written first novel, peopled with fascinating characters: strongly recommended.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In March 1861, Narcissa Powers, a young Virginia widow, learns her brother, Charley, is severely ill in Richmond. The short, painful illness kills Charley and reveals unsettling events, including grave robberies. To understand her brother's last months, Narcissa investigates, with the help of her best friend, a British journalist and a free black herbalist and "conjure woman." Except for a slow start and some too formal conversation--a hazard, perhaps, of observing the refined antebellum South--this is a fine first mystery that offers fresh views of nineteenth-century medicine and the early Civil War. Traditional genre fans will not be disappointed by the mystery element: Charley's death is so perplexing that motive, means, and opportunity remain hidden well into the story. Those who turn to historical mysteries for information and atmosphere will also be more than satisfied. Pair this with James Brewer's Big River series. John Rowen


Book Description
A dazzling debut that will appeal to Civil War buffs as well as fans of mysteries, medical thrillers, and historical fiction

Dead March is the first in an exciting new mystery series that takes place during the Civil War. It is the spring of 1861. Though the War Between the States is in its infancy, Richmond, Virginia, is not free of violent death, as two astute and courageous women from opposite ends of society discover when a grave is robbed, yielding the murdered body of a young slave woman. The silk scarf left carelessly with her body leads to suspects from every echelon of Richmond society--and to more deaths. Narcissa Powers, a young white widow, begins to investigate and is soon aided by Judah Daniel, a free black herbalist and conjure woman. As the War's casualties begin to pour into the city and the "Dead March" echoes through the streets, the mystery deepens, and Narcissa and Judah must risk their lives to find the killer--or killers--and save the life of an innocent child. With its well-paced suspense and fascinating characters, Dead March is both an elegant mystery and a moving evocation of the Old South.

"This highly auspicious debut is marked by McMillan's. . . first-rate mystery plot and by her penetrating analysis of the era's Southern culture." --Publishers Weekly

"This is a book you'll have trouble putting down." --Richmond Times Dispatch


About the Author
Ann McMillan was born in Georgia and received a Ph.D. from Indiana University. She has won awards for her academic writing and has been a writer and editor for the Medical College of Virginia. She lives in Richmond with her husband and their daughter.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A dazzling debut that will appeal to Civil War buffs as well as fans of mysteries, medical thrillers, and historical fiction

Dead March is the first in an exciting new mystery series that takes place during the Civil War. It is the spring of 1861. Though the War Between the States is in its infancy, Richmond, Virginia, is not free of violent death, as two astute and courageous women from opposite ends of society discover when a grave is robbed, yielding the murdered body of a young slave woman. The silk scarf left carelessly with her body leads to suspects from every echelon of Richmond society--and to more deaths. Narcissa Powers, a young white widow, begins to investigate and is soon aided by Judah Daniel, a free black herbalist and conjure woman. As the War's casualties begin to pour into the city and the "Dead March" echoes through the streets, the mystery deepens, and Narcissa and Judah must risk their lives to find the killer--or killers--and save the life of an innocent child. With its well-paced suspense and fascinating characters, Dead March is both an elegant mystery and a moving evocation of the Old South.

"This highly auspicious debut is marked by McMillan's. . . first-rate mystery plot and by her penetrating analysis of the era's Southern culture." --Publishers Weekly

"This is a book you'll have trouble putting down." --Richmond Times Dispatch

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

There is much to like and admire in this Civil War mystery debut. In Richmond, Va., in 1861, the coming conflict over secession seems inevitable. Narcissa Powers, whose son died soon after his birth and whose husband succumbed to consumption not long after that, is called from her nearby home to Richmond, where her brother, Charles, is a medical student. She arrives just in time to attend his deathbed and hear some fevered words about "resurrection.'' A half-burned letter stuck in her Bible provides clues that Charley's death may not have been an accident. Her suspicions gradually fall on his medical teachers and on the practice of "resurrecting" recently buried corpses for medical students to use as cadavers. The sense of social isolation and legal inferiority enforced on women and blacks is forcefully captured as Narcissa circumspectly probes for the truth. Charley's death also troubles a black man whose friend, Judah Daniel, a freed black woman who is a healer and "conjure woman," joins Narcissa in their quiet investigation. This highly auspicious debut is marked by McMillan's dexterous weaving of historical detail into a first-rate mystery plot and by her penetrating analysis of the era's Southern culture. Narcissa's reflections on and dealings with the limitations of gender and race imposed in her milieu are measured, credible and promising for further richly characterized tales in this series. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Shortly before Virginia secedes from the Union, Narcissa Powers, a young widow, attends her brother, a medical student in Richmond, on his deathbed. Then, with help from her sister-in-law and a British journalist, she investigates her brother's allegations that medical school doctors murdered a young black woman so the school would have another specimen for dissection. These "teachers," two "resurrection" men who steal cadavers for the school, and a free black conjure woman are all suspects. An authentic, powerful, and elegantly written first novel, peopled with fascinating characters: strongly recommended.

Kirkus Reviews

On the eve of Virginia's nervous preparations to join the Confederacy, Charley Wilson, a Richmond medical student pressed into service as a grave robber in order to satisfy Hampden-Sydney's need for anatomical specimens, sees that the latest corpse his little group has dug up did not go gently into that good night. The young black woman, allegedly a slave who died of childbed fever, has been buried without the baby who supposedly killed her but with a strangling strip of cloth jammed down her throat. Eager to confide the grisly discovery to his widowed sister, Narcissa Powers, Charley begins a letter to her, but before he can send it, he's struck down by a fatal case of erysipelas, and Narcissa arrives at his side just in time to hear him utter a single word, "resurrection," before he dies. What further knowledge did Charley take to his grave? Why have the other "sack-'em-up men" in the nocturnal party suddenly started to suffer the same fate as the woman they exhumed? And what can Narcissa, condemned to idealized inactivity as the flower of southern womanhood, do about it? Joining forces with two equally determined womenþher sister-in-law Mirrie Powers and free black conjure woman Judah DanielþNarcissa struggles to learn the truth about this corpse before the battle of First Manassas provides Hampden-Sydney with thousands of replacements. Historian McMillan's first novel is a rewarding period piece that mixes decorous tableaux out of Margaret Mitchell with unflinching glimpses of slavery, surgery, and the horrors of war and sudden death.