Morning of a Crescent Moon is a work of historical fiction set in 1898 Virden, Illinois, during the turbulent months leading up to the real Battle of Virden. The story follows Cate Merry, a young nurse-turned-teacher, arriving in a town already buzzing with tension as miners face a long lockout and the threat of imported strikebreakers. Through Cate’s eyes, we meet families scraping by on gardens and barter, miners determined to preserve their dignity, and townspeople caught between fear, pride, and hope. It’s a gentle, character-driven narrative set against a very real and violent historical backdrop, and the book makes its genre clear from the opening pages: this is grounded, people-centered historical fiction.

What I enjoyed most was how the author invites you into the quiet details of Cate’s new life. Small moments feel important. Her first steps off the train into a line of grim men. The shy McCall children selling tomatoes and corn. The drugstore with its lazy ceiling fans and Brad’s Drink. These scenes do a lot of the heavy lifting, easing you into the world before the bigger conflict tightens around everyone. The writing favors clear, steady storytelling over flourishes, which actually works well here. It gives the book a lived-in feeling. I especially liked how Cate’s inner life is handled. She’s anxious, hopeful, sometimes overwhelmed, but always trying to find her footing. Her memories of nursing wounded soldiers linger just under the surface, shaping her choices without becoming melodramatic. It’s subtle and believable.

I also found myself drawn to the author’s choice to tell the story through relationships rather than events. The miners’ struggle isn’t explained in an abstract way. It’s revealed through conversations on porches, worried glances in general stores, and the quiet determination of people trying to feed their families any way they can. Even the moments of local gossip help build a sense of community under strain. And then there’s Noah McCall, who becomes a steady emotional counterweight to Cate. His warmth and responsibility toward his siblings give the book a kind of heartbeat. Whenever the bigger historical tensions rise, the domestic scenes with the McCalls bring everything back to the human scale. It’s not a flashy narrative structure, but it gives the story weight.

By the final chapters, the tone shifts. The danger everyone has sensed surfaces finally, and the emotional stakes land because the quieter chapters have done their job. I won’t spoil specifics, but the aftermath sections are some of the strongest in the book. They carry a sense of exhaustion and tenderness that felt honest to both the characters and the history. The author includes real context about the labor movement, but the storytelling never turns into a lecture. You feel the history rather than being told about it.

I’d recommend Morning of a Crescent Moon to readers who like historical fiction that moves at a steady pace. If you enjoy stories centered on community, steady character arcs, and the everyday courage of ordinary people, this one will speak to you. It’s for someone who wants to sit with characters long enough to care about what happens to them.

Pages: 384 | ASIN: 1969935030