A SEPARATE COUNTRY

Hicks's raw, searing novel, based on the life of controversial Confederate Army General John Bell Hood, is masterfully voiced. Set in post-Civil War New Orleans, the story's bizarre cast of richly developed characters includes a dwarf, a burly priest, and a boy of mysterious parentage. The compelling rendition of Hood's marriage to Anna Marie is especially believable. Outstanding narration by Sherman Howard and Kevin Collins depicts Hood's diary entries, and Isabel Keating's textured narration brings Anna Marie's letters to life. The narrators capture Hood's devastation when he's ravaged by financial misfortune. When he falls fatally ill with yellow fever, he makes a strange request to Eli Griffin, a friend turned hit man, to publish his secret memoirs. Listeners won’t be disappointed in this chilling story filled with complicated twists and turns. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2009]