{"product_id":"deserters-paperback","title":"Deserters - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJerry Gabriel\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn immersive adventure story set during the American Civil War follows four travelers as they escape toward the Western territories.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e It is fall 1864, and Robert Riley has deserted his Army of the Potomac unit outside Petersburg, Virginia. Exhausted from years of war and worried about his motherless sons in Ohio, he returns to collect thirteen-year-old Michael and Sean, three years older, and flees to the Western territories. Along the way, he encounters Janey, an orphan at sixteen, who is also eager to go West. When Riley sees in her a quickness of mind, a brand of cunning that mirrors his own, he is persuaded to take her along. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Crossing the lower Midwest on horseback with little money and few possessions, the four are pursued by a wily private detective after the reward for turning in Riley. He manages to thwart the ragtag group, who abandon their plan of crossing the plains. They slip away by train to Chicago, and there, in that cold, stinking, dangerous metropolis, just before the 1864 election, they meet with problems beyond Riley's ability to resolve. All four find themselves alone, at the mercy of fortune . . . and the fortune hunter, who finally gets the chance to face down his nemesis. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeserters \u003c\/i\u003ealternates between the perspectives of the four major characters as their relationships grow and shift, and as each of them strives to forge their way forward in the late war's murky upheaval. A book whose antecedents include Charles Portis's \u003ci\u003eTrue Grit\u003c\/i\u003e and Paulette Jiles's \u003ci\u003eNews of the World\u003c\/i\u003e, Gabriel's immersive novel is an adventure story with psychological intricacy, emotional intensity, and historical heft.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJerry Gabriel\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of two books of fiction, \u003ci\u003eDrowned Boy\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Let Go\u003c\/i\u003e. His first book, \u003ci\u003eDrowned Boy\u003c\/i\u003e, won the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and the Towson Prize for Literature. He lives in Maryland with his wife and children, where he teaches writing at St. Mary's College of Maryland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 314\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8.9 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 13, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48452534272249,"sku":"9781968209049","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/JO06tayFoU9781968209049.webp?v=1779954831","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/deserters-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}