When the body of fourteen-year-old Tess Fowler is found in the Erie Canal, two outcasts fleeing their checkered pasts team up to solve her murder while navigating the contentious political and racial climate that has torn the nation apart.
It is July 1863, a pivotal time in the Civil War and the experiment in self-governance is in crisis. Jimmy Ryan, a veteran of the Mexican War, a man at war with himself as America is with itself, and Jack Carraway, a likable, naive Scottish immigrant traveling east from Minnesota, set out to find the killer.
But when a bounty hunter appears in the village, tracking a fugitive slave, the two must decide between bringing a killer to justice or saving a young man from a terrible fate. Their choices end in an unexpected and tragic climax.
With New York's storied Erie Canal and the notorious West Troy (now Watervliet) sidecut as a backdrop,
Hung Be the Heavens with Scarlet
is a sweeping epic spanning two iconic American wars while exploring the political, cultural and racial chaos that is all too familiar to Americans today.
"A disturbing, thought-provoking, and historically rich tale that lingers. Edgy, philosophical, and touching, this story of America's past shares stark similarities with the country's present. In compelling prose, Sylvester packs his pages with historical personages and intriguing details..."
- Kirkus Review