Reviews: "A lively adventure filled ‘whodunit’ that will keep you guessing and laughing."

Lost Gold of the Shenandoah by Billie Irene Johnson is an adventure filled ‘whodunit’ that takes the quirky residents of modern day small town Apple Grove, Virginia down a historical civil war treasure hunt. Starting in war torn 1864 with a stolen gold shipment, the story quickly goes back and forth to present day, revolving around a heritage B&B recently bought by Lauren Reynolds. Lauren gets more than she bargained for when the whole town develops gold fever from a find on her property.

Johnson's humorous writing style makes this an entertaining page-turner filled with secret passageways, jealous fury, romantic gallantry and murder. Mix that in with the memorable characters: a power hungry mayor; a conniving Southern Belle; a handsome town sheriff and a whole town filled with Civil War reenactors, and you get mayhem. Not only is she a great story teller, she also has a unique insight into men and women that had me laughing out loud several times. I now know it is the women that really run the South. Lost Gold of the Shenandoah definitely gets my vote for a great read.

-- www.topbookreviewers.com

"A fun book to read; a hard book to put down!"

Lost Gold of the Shenandoah was a 101% pleasure to read. Its characters and its plot draw you into two worlds. The first is the world of a small Virginia town full of nosey busybodies, gold-hungry schemers, Civil War Reenactors (men who never grew out of boyhood), and of course a hero and heroine whose romance overcomes danger and difficulty. The second world parallels the first, except it is one hundred fifty years in the past. Its life and death risks are more desperate for its hero and heroine, as is their romance. Billie Irene Johnson ties those two worlds together in a way that will please everyone. It is a tale of adventure, romance, mystery, intrigue, and a good old-fashioned historical fiction all rolled into one. I can easily see this turned into a major motion picture. If you enjoy good story-telling, you will not be disappointed!

-- Steven Dill, Louisville, KY

"The symptoms of Gold Fever are greed and contagious excitement.
Unless treated early, its effects can be fatal."
(Max Friedlander)

In the Autumn of 1864, a Confederate payroll train out of Richmond, Virginia, is attacked and plundered by a Union raiding party near Waynesboro, Virginia. The successful band of raiders, with their booty of strongboxes full of gold coins, headed north toward the Union lines near Winchester, Virginia. They never made it back.

One hundred forty-six years later, this tale of the lost gold is regarded only as legend, except in the small Shenandoah Valley town of Apple Grove. The descendants of the town’s founding families, the Sons and Daughters of the Stars and Bars, have never stopped looking for the gold. But the trail of clues to its whereabouts has long grown cold, until the summer of 2010.

Lauren Reynolds had recently moved to Apple Grove and purchased the old White Swan Inn. She loved the town’s old houses and battlefield park, the working period steam locomotive, and the numerous shops that catered to tourists and Civil War enthusiasts. It was a town where Civil War Reenactors came each year to relive the romance of times gone by. But when Lauren accidently stumbles across hidden secrets from the inn’s past, she discovers that there is a darker side to this picturesque Shenandoah Valley town.