In The Soldier's Secret by Heather Osborne, Emmett Hawkins is an ordinary enlisted soldier in the Union Army. Hawkins is a 'powder monkey,' responsible for keeping gun powder handy and in plentiful supply for the cannons as they are fired steadily on Confederate troops. All is well until Hawkins earns the ire of one commanding officer, a Captain Timmons. Little does Hawkins know that the battle is now one of life or death as Timmons seeks revenge. That's the least of Hawkins' problems, surprisingly. You see, Emmett Hawkins is really Emma Mansfield, a young lady disguised as a boy to allow her to infiltrate the Union Army in order to ensure that her two brothers are safe. But now she has blown her cover, or has she? In order to save one brother's life, Emmett/Emma must desert the army. While Emmett is hunted down as a deserter facing death by hanging, Emma must face the reality that her nemesis, Timmons, has murdered her brother and is threatening all that she holds dear - her friends and family. And, there's much more.

The author provides the reader with a good introduction to the Mansfield family and life, in general, for the typical northern family. This sets the stage for the events that follow. She creates a strong figure in Emma Mansfield, a determined woman who, despite the restrictions applied to women of the nineteenth century, feels duty bound to seek out her two brothers who are fighting in the war and make sure that they're safe. All of the drama is developed clearly and realistically, with lots of description to make the reader feel like they're actually in the story itself. This book is a very interesting and compelling read.

My stars? Five stars! As Cold Mountain is one of my favorite movies I was predisposed to enjoy this story, especially considering the brilliant twist of the plot; in which Emma Mansfield, out of moral compunction to see to her brother's safety and that of her fiancee, transforms herself into a man to join the Union Army, and in the process, finds herself in the gauntlet of the bloodiest war of American history. Heather Osborne writes the battle scenes with a plucky hand, and by squinting through the smoke and sulphur of the artillery barrages and bayonet charges, The Soldiers Secret hits its stride as as an exciting read with the added edge of historical accuracy.