“Webb, who goes beyond family lore to consult professors, historians and Civil War experts, grounds The Spectre’s ever dramatic event on solid research, even the character’s checked shirts and acorn coffee … a true sense of the war era. Inspired by stories of her forefathers, Webb fictionalizes the Civil War as a conflict among members of the Gordon clan. ‘Riley could still see Stuart’s moonlit form … with cutting pliers clutched in strong hands to nip a Union telegraph line and taste the joy of doing something toward protecting the homeland …’ Serious research and sensitive writing, Webb makes believable characters”.       —Elizabeth Allen, ForeWord Clarion Reviews

“… often told (story) but rarely given the humanity and depth of life that her characters portray … More than a tale of North invading South … a story of life prevailing over the Spectre of Death … fast paced action of a war story … heartfelt perspective of deep emotion … brings history into the light of humanistic evaluation. Facts and statistics do not breathe, but history told through family remembrances with emotive response, hopes and fears shared with the reader is a book you won’t forget.” —Heather Froeschl, BookReview.com.

“Across the length of Spectre of Death this sensation of the war drawing closer and closer until it is all around is very powerful and quite well done. One of the most affecting scenes has a young woman, who once walked openly in the sunshine thinking about boyfriends and frivolity, sneaking through the black woods and brush to milk their hidden cow. The ominous sense of danger she felt from every bush and shadow is visceral, indeed--all to protect a single cow whose milk might be all that separates them from starvation. Such is the view of the times this novel presents. Throughout Spectre of Death are synopsis-like historical interludes to place outside events in relation to those involving the characters. These bits are well-written and appear well-researched. They're a welcome addition to a novel of this type”. —D. H. Rule, Civil War St. Louis Reviews

When Civil War comes to the wilderness of Southeast Missouri, John Gordon decrees the family will remain neutral, continue raising corn and hogs. Family duty demands that sons, Stuart and Riley, stay at the plow while their friends ride off to find General Price. Frustrated, Stuart leaves in the night to join a local unit. When the Union Army imposes martial law, the independent farmer becomes a partisan ranger out to protect home and hearth. The State Guard is tagged guerrilla by Union troops pouring in from neighboring states bent on control or annihilation of resisters. Richmond’s hands are full. Missouri must protect herself. Home territory becomes a no-man’s-land. The line between honor to the father and duty to country becomes blurred as family life is interwoven with war. Riley disappears, leaving his plow in the ground. John and daughters, Kate, Emely, and Ritty try to hold the farm together. It slips from them. Old men must hide in thickets, be hanged or shot. Yankee invaders torch mills, cornfields, homes, and barns. Refugees flee south. The farm disintegrates as does the family and the land. Surrender is inevitable, but the war is far from over in Southeast Missouri.