Steven P. Locklin

Beneath Hallowed Ground is a book that Civil War enthusiast will enjoy as well as being a good action story. The plot takes place in the early years of the Civil War with a dual plot taking place in modern day. The idea is clever with a missing shipment of gold from the Civil War suddenly getting new attention due to recently discovered letters.
The strengths of this novel are the plot line and the good historical perspective, I found myself fully engaged in the story, especially the parts show more set in the past.
However, there are some weaknesses as well, it seems that some modern day morals and attitudes are applied to the characters in the 1860's and somehow I can't see an army lieutenant questioning the president of the United States in quite as forceful a way as given here. There are also scenes that aren't really necessary to the plot lines of the book that sort of bog things down and there are some situations that stretch plausibility.
Given that, it is still a good tale and I would give the story itself 4 stars while the editing brings it down somewhat. show less

"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 show more Frank Drury who claims knowledge of what happened all those many years ago? Read this suspense-filled novel and find out. show less

This is two stories blended into one.
Lieutenant Jackson Prescott, fresh from the battlefields at Antietam in 1862, is summoned to a secret meeting with President Abraham Lincoln. News has reached the President of a confederate plot to raise 5 tons of gold to support their cause. Jackson is sent undercover to locate the gold, discover who is behind the plot, and foil their plans. Both Prescott and the gold disappear in 1864.
150 years later, FBI Special Agent Jason Sparks is dragged into a show more plot to locate the missing gold. While he traces Prescott’s actions, his daughter is kidnapped by a powerful man who wants the gold for himself. Making it worse, there’s a traitor in the FBI who undercuts his every move. Unsure of who to trust, he must find the gold to save his daughter.
Murder and deceit follow both missions which merge at the bloody battlefields of Gettysburg.
Fast paced and intriguing, I enjoyed the story lines and memorable characters. I loved how Locklin weaves real people into his story, bringing the feeling of authenticity to his tale. I look forward to more of his novels. show less

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 show more 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. show less