Historical fiction fans, take note. In THE GRAYS OF TRUTH, Sharon Virts delves into the suspicious post-Civil War deaths of several people over a four-year period, all at the home of the beautiful Ellen Wharton. Although you probably haven't heard about this case before, it really did happen.

Told from the perspective of Jane Gray Wharton, Ellen's sister-in-law, THE GRAYS OF TRUTH begins in 1867 with the death of Jane's friend. Later Jane's husband, then her daughter die when they visit Ellen's home, plus Jane gets sick there. Now Jane suspects that Ellen poisoned them. Over the next three years more people visiting Ellen's home die before they leave. Ellen had motives to kill all of them, and she had opportunity to poison them. Jane, because of her medical knowledge, was sure Ellen poisoned them but was unable to get her arrested because men didn't listen to her and were sure a woman was unable to commit these murders.

Although Virts did have to make up parts of this story, at the same time, many other parts of it are true. Virts does list a few of the true parts in her "Author's Note," and she also refers to "countless" other truths. I guess I can assume that many events and people are true, but she wrote around that and embellished. Isn't that the way with historical fiction?

But Sharon Virts' historical fiction is different because it finds the unusual cases you haven't heard of before. It's not just fiction placed in a historical setting.