Books The rebel wife

 This Southern gothic novel is set in the Reconstruction-era South Carolina (or Alabama). It follows Augusta Branson, a young widow from a prominent but now destitute Southern family, who loses her husband to a mysterious blood fever. As she and her son navigate a community rife with violence and secrets, she discovers her expected inheritance has vanished and must find answers quickly. The story is a character study of Augusta's evolution from a passive, ignorant woman into someone who must summon the courage to survive in a challenging, post-Civil War world.