I enjoy historical novels, so it was particularly pleasing to discover Maine resident Christopher Morin’s books. He’s written two novels and one short story, and I decided to begin with his new novel, The Rebel’s Wrath.

The Civil War has just ended, and Christopher neatly blends the history of that era with a compelling fictional story where tension builds throughout the book, culminating in an astonishing bunch of murder and mayhem in the small town of North Scarborough.

Having visited Gettysburg, I particularly enjoyed the fact that Christopher began his novel there, where his main character, Private Sherman Jackson, served in the famous 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, led by General Joshua Chamberlain. 

Jackson, lucky to have survived that battle, returns home to find that his mother has recently died and his father is now an invalid, unable to keep the family general store going. While he was hoping for much bigger and better things in his life, Jackson is compelled to stay in North Scarborough and revive the store for his ailing father, who then dies, leaving Jackson stuck there.

Eventually all hell – and I do mean hell – breaks loose, driven by a mysterious “ghost rider” who is still, apparently, fighting for the south, right there in North Scarborough.

There’s a lot more to the story but I don’t want to spoil it for you. You can learn more about Christopher Morin, and connect with him, on his Facebook page http://goo/gl/6AdFHz. And now, I’m moving on to his first novel!