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The Crescent Spy Kindle Edition

by Michael Wallace (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,010 ratings
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Writing under a man’s name, Josephine Breaux is the finest reporter at Washington’s Morning Clarion. Using her wit and charm, she never fails to get the scoop on the latest Union and Confederate activities. But when a rival paper reveals her true identity, accusations of treason fly. Despite her claims of loyalty to the Union, she is arrested as a spy and traitor.

To Josephine’s surprise, she’s whisked away to the White House, where she learns that President Lincoln himself wishes to use her cunning and skill for a secret mission in New Orleans that could hasten the end of the war. For Josephine, though, this mission threatens to open old wounds and expose dangerous secrets. In the middle of the most violent conflict the country has ever seen, can one woman overcome the treacherous secrets of her past in order to secure her nation’s future?

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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Lake Union Publishing
  5. Publication date
    November 10, 2015
  6. File size
    1832 KB
  7. Page Flip
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Josephine Breaux is spunky, determined, and fearless, and she needs to be as a battlefield reporter during the Civil War. After a daring escape from the chaos of Bull Run, she triumphantly publishes her wildly popular stories under a pseudonym. When a rival newspaper reveals her true identity and accuses her of being a Confederate spy, the notorious Pinkerton Agency comes calling. She can publish under her real name, covering the war for the Crescent in New Orleans; she just has to report the true state of Confederate battle readiness back to the Union. Growing up on a riverboat, Josephine spent long hours poring over military novels and histories, and her affinity for battle plans makes her ideal for the job, if only she can convince her handsome handler, Franklin, of that. Tense battle scenes, cutthroat newspaper politics, and a mysterious backstory complete for attention in the prolific Wallace’s latest. Though the pacing is uneven, there are enough details to satisfy military history buffs as well as fans of Jennifer Chiaverini’s Civil War historicals. —Susan Maguire

About the Author

Michael Wallace was born in California and raised in a small religious community in Utah, eventually heading east to live in Rhode Island and Vermont. In addition to working as a literary agent and innkeeper, he has been a software engineer for a Department of Defense contractor programming simulators for nuclear submarines. He is the author of more than twenty novels, including the Wall Street Journal bestselling Righteous series, set in a polygamist enclave in the desert.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00TUOH5AK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing (November 10, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 10, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1832 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,010 ratings

About the author

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Michael Wallace

Michael Wallace

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Books and Series

THE STARSHIP BLACKBEARD UNIVERSE

Starship Blackbeard

Lords of Space

Dreadnought

Rebellion of Stars

The Sentinel

Dragon Quadrant

Shattered Sun

Queen of the Void

Star Wolf

Sun King

Alliance Stars

Alliance Armada

Alliance Insurgent

THE DARK CITADEL UNIVERSE

The Dark Citadel

The Free Kingdoms

The Golden Griffin

The Warrior King

War of Wizards

The Red Sword

The Black Shield

The Emerald Crown

THE RIGHTEOUS SERIES

The Righteous

Mighty and Strong

The Wicked

The Blessed and the Damned

Destroying Angel

The Gates of Babylon

Hell’s Fortress

Blood of the Faithful

THE QUINTANA TRILOGY

Wandering Star

The Luminoso

Chasm of Fire

THE DEVIL’S DEEP SERIES

The Devil’s Deep

The Devil’s Peak

The Devil’s Cauldron

HISTORICAL SUSPENSE

The Red Rooster

Wolf Hook

The Wolves of Paris

Crow Hollow

The Crescent Spy

Victoria Crossing

The Year of Counting Souls

Blood of Vipers

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
1,010 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars A Woman in a Man's World during the Civil War
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2018
Verified Purchase
Michael Wallace is a good writer: the main characters are sufficiently developed, and the setting and plot are interesting. The Crescent Spy was, therefore, a good read. The author found no need to depict lewd scenes or use coarse language, for which I was grateful. If you enjoy a good clean historical novel with just enough excitement to keep you reading, I recommend this novel.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The Civil War from a Young Woman's Point of View
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
I loved reading this book, especially getting to know the female hero. It seems so unlikely that a woman in the days of the Civil War a woman would be allowed to be an on-site journalist but there she was, in the thick of the battles around New Orleans. It was an adventure, a spy story, a love story and a story about how the black people managed to survive after they were set free and their culture. Lots of surprises along the way made this book a wonderful read.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read but not as great as Crow Hollow
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2016
Verified Purchase
The Crescent Spy was the kind of richly detailed historical fiction adventure I have come to expect from Michael Wallace. The main character grew up on a little explored sub-culture in the United States 19th Century river boats. The immersive description of these riverboats made me feel like I was looking through a window into the main room of several of those boats. I could almost reach out and touch the gamblers as they sat around the tables playing card, drinking, and smoking pipes and cigars. The dancers, resplendent in their 19th Century finery danced away up on the stage, largely ignored by the gamblers.

Like a television I can hit the channel button and immediately be taken to images of the Confederate Mosquito fleet that plied the might Mississippi in a heroic yet the ultimately hopeless endeavor of keeping the mighty Union fleet away from New Orleans. Compared to Crow Hollow however; the heroine just didn’t seem to engender the same level of excitement within me to turn the next page. Hard to say what Crescent Spy is lacking that Crow Hollow contained. Crescent Spy is a solid story to be sure but just wasn’t compelling enough to get a top rating. Despite this I enjoy the author and look forward to more of his work.
5 people found this helpful
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maurice jensen
4.0 out of 5 stars Great spy/war story set during the Civil War, in Southern America.
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
A marvellous tale set in the short but unpleasant Civil War of America. A smart woman-spy for the North delivers an important message to those in Authority, with important consequences. And lives to tell the tale.

Jolly good stuff, excitingly written and set in "interesting times".

You will love this spy/war story and its heroine.
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B.F. Spink
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Wallace Classic
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2016
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Mr. Wallace continues to look like the next Michael Crichton as he moves to yet another time frame in historical fiction, this time to the Civil War with a heroine, daughter of a riverboat tramp, who agrees to spy on her Confederate homeland for the Union forces. It takes some coercion, and a bit of a dirty trick by the Pinkerton people who recruit spies, but she's quickly convinced to join forces with the Yankees. As a newspaper reporter by trade, she has access to a lot of people, and 150 years ago a female spy was more or less an unthinkable idea. Wallace pulls off the story through the eyes of protagonist Josephine, often visiting her personal life which keeps popping up and complicating her spying efforts. Wallace has written historical fiction from other eras, his series on a renegade Mormon cult and the apocalypse outstanding, and he's ventured into other genres as well. In this era when publishers usually insists authors stick with one genre for marketing purposes, Wallace stands above the rest (much as Crichton did with his variety of fiction) for branching out and bringing a readership along.
One person found this helpful
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4.0 out of 5 stars This is a well written story about the battle of ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is a well written story about the battle of New Orleans. The battles of that time were very detailed especially those of the attacks on the forts that protected New Orleans. The narrative running through the novel about the young girt reporter and her adventures was also well done.
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DyAmite
5.0 out of 5 stars ,, ,A GREAT NOVEL
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
This story deserves more than five stars. Josephine Breaux, is a reporter for the Washington Post, she has to write under a man's name, because of the era. She speaks her mind witch gets her in a lot off trouble.
This story is in the time of the "Civil War. There's a lot tension between the Union and the Confederate States, Josephine is a young beautiful woman. She can cross the lines between the North and South with no problems. She gets to meet The President of the Union States. He wants her to work for him and the Union. She agrees to do this. She also knows that if she gets caught that she will be Shot!
Let again Michael Wallace has done himself proud. He can write a novel around history, and make it so good, that it is hard to put down until the book is done and the reader can't wait for the next one of the series to come out.
Great Job Michael, and Thank You.
5 people found this helpful
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Kelly
2.0 out of 5 stars Ok easy read.
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
It was ok and I could enjoy it for the most part. I felt as if it were fairly predictable however and the ending was very reminiscent of Scarlet O'Hara's "tomorrow is another day" which I felt was disappointing.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
Enjoyed reading this novel it was a good read. Loved the fact it was set in New Orleans and had a strong female lead.
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margaret cox
4.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Crescent Spy
Reviewed in Australia on April 4, 2017
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I really enjoyed this book love the time it was set in the book just flowed on not sure what was going to happen next well written
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Roger
4.0 out of 5 stars An historical thriller that I enjoyed reading. The pace is at the right speed ...
Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
An historical thriller that I enjoyed reading. The pace is at the right speed and the subject is excellent. For a person like me, not well versed in the North/South war, this is a great source of information. Most of these types of books offer a weak conclusion. Too many questions left up in the air. I imagine it is par for the course, as the author gets ready for the next episode.
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Annabelle
4.0 out of 5 stars good story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Not a bad story, but couldn't quite believe some of the events. I normally like fiction based around real life events, but knowing how suppressed women were back then, the whole story just did not ring very true for me. Enjoyed the story nonetheless.
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Grandma Bee
3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read
Reviewed in Australia on July 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
An easy to absorb story with a background history of the early American struggles. A good introduction to American history - something I would like to study more. And . . . exciting enough to keep me enthralled to the end.
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