In 1861, Moise and Marie-Anne Allard have not yet recovered from the difficult birth of their first son when Marie-Anne’s brother, her cousin and an old friend join thousands of young Detroiters marching off to war, returning four years later as Detroit enters the industrial age. The Allards are guided by their unforgettable great-grandmother, Mimi Balard, while being threatened by their old nemesis, Fillmore P. Shakley, a slave catcher turned carpetbagger, when he returns to Detroit for revenge. As a young adult, their son, Moses Allard, leaves the farm for marriage and city life but eventually returns to the farm, weary of labor unrest. While the 19th century comes to a close, the groundwork is laid for Detroit’s famous organized crime syndicate which will deeply affect the family into the 20th century and Book Eight. This seventh in a series of eight historical novels, The Witch, continues to bring history to life through the eyes of one family. It continues to be for French-Canadians what Roots is for-African Americans, but you need not have French-Canadian heritage or be from Detroit to love these books. Reach the author at wilmontk@gmail.com Acclaim for THE ALLARDS by WILMONT KREIS Dr. Bill Kreis reveals, in this exciting series of historical novels, his talent as an author who can combine narrative, genealogy, and history with much skill. Using his firm grasp of the history of Charlesbourg, Detroit and beyond, he weaves past and present with fact, probabilities and possibilities into a compelling tale that brings history to life. Susan M. Colby in Michigan's Habitant Heritage The author is an Allard descendant raised in St. Clair Shores and a researcher with a knack for breathing life into the past. The Allards Book One, The New World is the beginning of a series of fast-paced, down-to-earth historical novels based on documents that tell the story of ordinary pioneer life in early Quebec. These books bring alive the intimacies of the ancestral research many of us have recorded. The author, researching with the thoroughness of an anteater and skilled in French, begins in Normandy..." Lorelei Maison Rockwell in Michigan's Habitant Heritage An Orthopedic Surgeon and life-long resident of the Detroit River Region, Kreis has spent much of his life researching his mother's family and the history surrounding them. His books, now a series of seven, bring these interesting people to life in an accurate historical setting presented through their eyes.