Let me declare up front that I received a free e-book copy of this novel through LibraryThing's early reviewer giveaway, but I have been a bit slack in reading and reviewing it.

The novel has a very interesting structure with two parallel narratives set 150 years apart. One is set at the time of the U.S. Civil War and involves an attempt by a Union spy to infiltrate a secret Confederate attempt to obtain and smuggle out of the country enough gold to turn international opinion in their favour. The second parallel story is set in the present day and follows an FBI agent attempting to locate where the gold was hidden at the end of the war and whose daughter has been kidnapped by another group also after the gold.

The characters are all believable and even though we know that the two stories will eventually overlap (geographically, wherever the gold is hidden), the journeys of both groups of characters is thoroughly enjoyable.

In addition, the inclusion of what seem to be accurate historical references about the Civil War in general, and the Battle Of Gettysburg in particular, added for me at least another dimension to the story.

A solid 4 1/2 stars out of 5. Recommended. ( )

"Beneath Hallowed Ground" by author Steven Locklin is one well-written novel that goes between present times and those tumultuous days of our Civil War just prior to the Battle of Gettysburg.A huge shipment of gold to Europe from Southern sympathizers has gone missing as has Union Army Lieutenant Jackson Prescott who was ordered by President Lincoln to infiltrate that smuggling ring. What happened? Where is the gold and what does all this have to do with the present day murder of historian Frank Drury who claims knowledge of what happened all those many years ago? Read this suspense-filled novel and find out. ( )

I read this book several months ago and enjoyed it. I thought it was well-written and that the plot was believable. The story held my attention and I thought the characters were well-drawn. The ending in Gettysburg, Pa. was exciting and I didn't see it coming. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes light historical fiction. ( )

I almost quit reading when the author had the characters tumbling into bed together after just meeting each other. While that is likely in modern times, I think it would have been much less likely in the 1800's so it seemed contrived. But I kept reading and enjoyed it overall. ( )

This was an interesting read. Modern day detective noir mixed with 19th century historical fiction. The chapters alternate between the two time periods without exception. I usually find that annoying, but in this case the two storylines' respective stakes were ratcheted up in perfect unison and I never found myself particularly frustrated by the switch. Speaking of the stakes, they do ratchet something fierce. I enjoyed this very much. My only complaints would be that some of the exposition felt just a little forced to me. ( )