Civil War re-enactments are a very popular hobby among history buffs favoring both the North and the South. Those who pursue this hobby take great pride in keeping every aspect of the re-enactment true to the real life Civil War.

Near the small town of Corinth, Mississippi, the battle of Kirby Creek is re-enacted.  When the smoke clears a man is dead, apparently the victim of an accidental shot. That is what the local police department declares anyway.

But when the victim’s widow discovers that the shot may have instead been intended for Kenny Beeman, a Mississippi cop, she calls in her former lover, John Rane, to help find out the truth. John is a news photographer, who joins with Kenny to dress as a re-enactor—complete with uniform and a Sharps Civil War rifle—to find out who is taking the war so seriously.

As the two men investigate, they discover that many of the old family feuds still exist and if they can’t discover who the killer is, the fields of Shiloh may run red with blood at the next re-enactment.

This book was a great mystery but even more so I enjoyed the history elements and the background about the private little world of the Civil War re-enactors.