Kelly’s final book in the Woolsey-Ferriday series is by far the best one. First published March 30, 2021, by Ballantine Books and released in audiobook format on the same day by Random House Audio. The book is available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook formats, as well as at your local library or through the Libby App. Kelly’s books switch points of view among Georgeanna “Georgey” Woolsey, Jemma, Anne-May Wilson Watson, and Mary Woosley. The audiobook, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, Shayna Small, Jenna Lamia, and Cassandra Campbell, is marvelous, with each woman getting her own voice.

Compared to the previous books in the series where Kelly glosses over the horrors, in this book, she embraces them, bringing her readers and listeners with her on the journey through the civil war experience, inhumane and barbaric plantations, war-torn cities, atrocities of the battlefield, society coming to grips with nationalism, and unthinkable racial cruelty, which still rings true today.

Georgey Woolsey has never been one for parties or demure attitudes of women of her stature, so when war breaks out, she follows her passion for nursing. It’s a time when doctors consider women on the battlefront a nuisance, proving them wrong, she and her sister, Eliza, move from New York to Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg, even on board warships nursing Union soldiers. Even their mother joins the nursing efforts. Georgey is determined in her endeavors and doesn’t let naysayers stop her. Her ultimate goal is to open a nursing school for women. The romance between her and Frank Bacon is relatable, with its ups and downs and turmoil. Kelly did a great job of creating tension and distance between the couple before bringing them back together.

Jemma, an enslaved sixteen-year-old girl on Peeler Plantation in the South, has a life of fear and misery. Her mother, father, and grandmother are also enslaved people on the Plantation, and her sister Patience is enslaved on the Plantation next door. All of them fear the overseer LeBaron, who’s abusive and cruel and tracks their every move with his dogs. The new mistress of the Plantation, Anne-May Wilson Watson, isn’t better; she takes the switch to Jemma’s back when she’s displeased and pours vinegar on the bleeding wounds. After LeBaron kills her father in front of Jemma and her mother, Jemma knows she will soon meet the same fate if she stays. To her dismay, Mr. Watson sells her and her grandmother, Sally Smith, and when the Union army comes by the new owners’ place, the army conscripts them as contraband. Jemma fights at Gettysburg and is wounded. In the hospital, she meets Georgey and gets her first taste of freedom.

Anne-May Wilson Watson is a detestable character. Malicious, vain, and selfish, her ambitions draw her into a secret Southern network of spies that could have her hanged if found out. Spying for the South proves to be her undoing as Pinkerton Detectives follow her as she attempts to track Jemma back to Washington and New York, and to the Plantation. She enslaves Jemma once more, but what Anne-May does not expect is Jemma’s new attitude. Jemma bargains with Anne-May, promising to give her the book containing the spy details implicating her in the Southern Spy Network, saying she only wants to leave with her sister unharmed. Anne-May agrees. In their attempt to flee, they nearly kill LeBaron, which causes chaos and almost gets Jemma and Patience hanged. The only redeeming quality to Anne-May is that she comes to the girls’ rescue and shoots her lover and spy partner.

Mary Woolsey is a lovely woman, the mother of four girls. She’s gentle, and in her own special way, she interferes in Georgey’s love life to ensure she and Frank get back together. Mary’s death is bittersweet, but it moves the story toward the direction Kelly wants: a reunion of the couple. Granting Mary’s dying wish.

The vivid details Kelly portrays and the well-rounded characters make it easy to fall into the past, right into the story, making this a 4-star read or listen.