A compelling tale of a southern Gentleman turned spy, of confederate and union battles, double agents, slavery and squalor of a C19th border town. Not the usual type of book I would read, but I couldn't stop reading it. Wonderful descriptions drawn you in and explores topical issues through the lives of characters firmly placed in the historical narrative.

Was only given a few minutes to listen to the audio and narration and I did like the narration. Received from Net Gallery. Would like to other read the book our listen to the audio.

An intense story of 1863 in a frontier town where Union and Confederate supporters, Mexicans, ex-slaves, French, Commanches and a whole disparate bunch of deserters, renegades and opportunists come together to survive and flourish, or not. Essentially the main thread is about southern jaded gentleman Clay, his longtime friend Isaac and former wife Allie. Clay is spying for the Confederates, or is he a double agent for the Unionists, Isaac longs for freedom for all slaves and Allie comes to Matamoros as a widow trying to establish or revive the cotton business of her husband. No-one is quite what they seem. There is a lot of depth and a lot of description of a bustling, dangerous, exciting, frontier town with a lot of squalour and a lot of aspirations. A lot of read to keep you engrossed. Thanks to NetGalley and Pen Wild Press for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.