Thanks to Kevin Tipple for sending more reviews. I really was out playing yesterday. My Mom and sisters were all here. We went to lunch at a diner, and then to a library. A library! Who would ever think that four women who worked in libraries would go visit one on a gorgeous, sunny day?

Anyways, all the more reason to post one of Kevin’s reviews. He said, ” I am not one for historicals, but I very much enjoyed this short story collection when I read/reviewed back in 2012.” Jeffrey Marks’ Under Investigation is currently available through Amazon for Kindle or audiobook.

Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries

Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an interesting and very enjoyable
collection of previously published stories featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each
story occurs during the Civil War and before the time of the first US Grant
Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name. The stories portray Grant as a
detective bringing his skills to bear on cases where the Civil War is a
backdrop.

The book opens with “Under Reconstruction.” Ulysses S. Grant likes to
start his day with as belt of whiskey. His wife, Julia, as well as many others
expect him to be President in about three years. In the meantime, he has to
put up with nonsense like the planned meeting this morning with Stanton
who is Secretary of War.

Too bad there is a dead man in Stanton’s office. In Grant’s opinion, it is a
real shame that the dead man is not Stanton. Not only does Grant need to
find the Secretary of War, he needs to find out who killed the dead man as
quickly as possible to deal with the politics involved.

“Under Siege” follows and moves the action from the White House to the
war. Grant has a new regiment from Ohio and they are not ready for battle.
Not only are they not remotely ready, but in Grant’s considered opinion, the
new troops don’t even know which end of the gun to point at the enemy.
Contrary to Grant’s opinion, apparently at least one did.

Because the shot Grant just heard over the flapping of the tents was the
shot that killed Private Walters. According to Captain Turner, a man Grant
respects even if he is soft on the recruits, it is a suicide. Turner wants Grant
to see for himself. The problem with that is that once Grant takes a look he
realizes this death was no suicide.

It’s late in 1863 and the various desserts cooling in the kitchen in “Under
Cooked” are creating an intoxicating smell. What isn’t so pleasant is the
sight of the dead woman bleeding into her own dough. Vicksburg is behind
him and the manor home on Lookout Mountain in East Tennessee was
supposed to have been a tranquil headquarters for Grant. Now Jenny
Rowe is dead and the assumption by everyone else is that she was killed
by a stray round fired during drills. If you aren’t hungry for desert when you
start reading this story you will be by the end as there is a recipe from 1862
for “Green Apple Pies.”

Shifting the perspective considerably is the story “Under Hoof.” Written
from the prospective of a horse, Cincinnati that General Ulysses S. Grant
rode during the war, it tells the tale of a death. Since the humans all look
so much alike to the horses involved it is hard for Cincinnati and the other
horses to know which specific humans were involved. That fact and the fact
Cincinnati is going to have to somehow explain the real truth to the General
are just two of the complexities in the story.

General Ulysses S. Grant was supposed to be out on one of the Federal
boats, dry and comfortable. Instead, as “Under Water” opens, Grant is
standing over a corpse that lies in the muck next to the bank somewhere
along the Mississippi River. Somebody has caved in the man’s skull and
most likely it was a shovel. Shovels are everywhere as Grant plans to divert
the Mississippi to leave Vicksburg dry and vulnerable to attack. Who the
man was, what his purpose was, and who killed him are just a few of the
questions Grant needs answered as fast as possible.

Ulysses S. Grant has had men in his command, men he trusted, commit
murder and other acts dishonoring themselves and their units. So, the fact
that Private Jones says he didn’t do it in “Under Suspicion” does not mean
that much to Grant. Plans for the campaign after Vicksburg are missing
with the fate of the war hanging in the balance. Private Jones was the last
person known to be in the room with the documents. If he didn’t take them,
then who did?

Major General Abner Doubleday needs Grant’s help in “Under Hand.”
Doubleday has a reputation that is not at all positive. What happened at
Gettysburg and Doubleday’s role in it no longer matters but it does to
Doubleday. He claims to now have proof for what he has said all along. He
wants Grant to meet a witness who is now finally coming forward more than
a year later after the events in question. Grant knows that the whole deal is
suspect but has no idea how messed up things will become before the deal
is finished.

War takes a toll on all. Some die. Some live. Of those that live a significant
number will be forever broken. That reality is true today just as it is true in
“Under Sedation.” Grant is going to visit those broken men in the hospital
in Washington. It is his duty and his responsibility. The fact that somebody
killed a patient while Grant was at the hospital won’t be tolerated. Before
long, Grant is investigating to make sure the guilty party is caught.

Cyrus Williams disappeared just after the Army of Tennessee took Jackson,
Mississippi. Captain Lee, no relation at all to the southern general, has a
picture from one of those new-fangled camera things showing what might
be Williams as a ghostly apparition in the picture. While some believe
Williams deserted, Captain Lee believes the ghostly figure in the picture is
Williams pointing out his killer. Then the body of Williams turns out proving
he wasn’t a deserter in “Under Developed.”

These ten stories are full of rich history and scene details that all invoke a
bye gone era. In story after story, General Grant finds the truth with or
without the help of man or beast. War is easier than investigation and yet
Ulysses S. Grant manages to be incredibly successful at both while
excellently entertaining the reader with his brand of truth, honor and justice.

You can pick the read up here at Amazon.

Material supplied quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my
objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2024