Good Time Coming

September 19, 2016
In a distinct departure from her popular Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series, Harris tells a powerful story of war’s destruction of property, people, hopes, and morals during the Civil War in Louisiana. This is top-notch historical fiction, thoroughly researched and vividly presented, revealing the Civil War in all its brutality. Thirteen-year-old Amrie St. Pierre lives with her mother on a farm near the Mississippi port town of St. Francisville. Her father and most local men are in the Confederate army fighting up north near Vicksburg. The Union army comes upriver from New Orleans, burning, plundering, and pillaging—terrorizing citizens, punishing them for secession. Louisiana families suffer greatly from deprivation—little food, no medicine, sickness, and the constant threat of rape and murder. Amrie, her mother, and Mahalia, another citizen, are assaulted by two Yankee soldiers, but the women kill both men and hide their bodies. They know Yankee retribution will be swift and harsh. After the soldiers’ bodies are finally discovered, the whole town will be punished if the killers don’t step forward. Amrie and her mother learn the strength of women united against cruelty and oppression. This is an excellent story, full of suspense and historical detail.

Starred review from November 15, 2016
Harris offers an evocative, intimate, disturbing, mesmerizing tale of the American Civil War, seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl, Amrie St. Pierre. Amrie lives in a small southern town along the Mississippi River, where summers are golden and childhood is still a time of wonder and exploration. All that changes with the war. Amrie's father enlists, the Northern army sends ships to shell strategic towns along the Mississippi, life's basic necessities are in short supply, and Amrie's idyllic childhood comes to an abrupt end. The women left behind must manage plantations, keep their slaves in line, and find clever ways to compensate for the lack of food. The daily lists of men dying on the battlefields are long, and families are devastated by the death of loved ones. The Federals from the North ride roughshod through the South, robbing, raping, and pillaging. When two Federals attack Amrie's home, she defends it with all her might, but the results are as terrifying as they are shocking. This story of love, loss, and growing up under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable is beautifully written, superbly researched, emotionally engaging, and gripping from first page to last. A must for old-school fans of historical fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)