Pretending to be a Confederate sympathizer finds him in confused waters with an old flame, a lovely actress who might be a spy herself. It is an older woman who provides Harry with the support he needs to get information across enemy lines.

I welcomed the opportunity to read a mystery set in American history because they are rare compared to the prolific British settings crowding the bookshelves. But too many paragraphs in The Ironclad Alibi looked like they were pulled from a textbook. And I thought it strange that the story had little excitement during a ship battle. In fact, it was so dull that even Harry didn’t stick around to see who won.

A secondary story line involving Harry’s freed slave and his lover and a child clouded what might have been a riveting military mystery. And although this storyline ends up being important to us, again, Harry seems to be on sedatives.

The book has a monotone feel to it, but there are glimpses of everyday life during the Civil War that make it interesting enough to read, especially if you are a history buff.

--Diane Gotfryd