Appomattox ended the war with a penstroke...
but the struggle for freedom had only begun.

1865. After the Civil War, Durksen Hurst and three black friends return home to a devastated Mississippi, the sole survivors of a Union colored cavalry regiment. But instead of peace, they find unregenerate Confederates who reject emancipation still in charge.

Undeterred, Durk opens a law practice to help disenfranchised freedmen — only to be threatened by powerful planters and nightriders. A black school is burned; a petition march to Jackson is terrorized. And when one of his friends goes missing, Durk is horrified to discover Black Codes being used to force freedmen into brutal servitude. Clever Durk schemes to liberate them but must contend with armed ruffians — and a rigged court system. Will fire and bullets prevail?

In this concluding chapter of Ed Protzel’s DarkHorse Trilogy, Something in Madness illuminates Reconstruction, the least understood epoch in American history, exposing the origin of America’s ongoing racial divide.

Praise for The Lies That Bind
“…a deftly crafted and consistently compelling read...”
- MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

“…a gripping tale…of deceit, slavery, and dangerous complicities...”
- READERS’ FAVORITE, 5 STARS

Praise for Honor Among Outcasts

“...a pulse-pounding journey of desperate men and women caught up in the merciless forces of hatred and fear that tear worlds apart…”
- MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

Author: Ed Protzel
Publication Date: Oct 23, 2020
6x9 Trade Paper, 340 pages, List: $16.99
ISBN-13: 978-1-952816-10-9
Historical Fiction