The author is to be recommended for the fine job he did on the research. However, his writing skills could be improved. By the end of the book, I was bored by the whole thing.
Obviously, during the turmoil of the end of the Civil War, the McCoys were able to appropriate a great deal of gold coins from a Northern general. However, the Pinkertons were hired to find the money, and the McCoys had already had a visit from the Pinkertons. They needed to turn the heat toward others but didn't want to incriminate innocent folks. So they devised a plan to give bags of coins to robbers already active in neighboring states.
Of course, it would not be logical to hand the money over, so the McCoys devised clever, if dangerous, plans to relieve themselves of some of the gold coins. Fortunately, the robbers didn't think too long or hard about their new bounty. They just started spending it, and that brought the Pinkertons to their doors.
Obviously, during the turmoil of the end of the Civil War, the McCoys were able to appropriate a great deal of gold coins from a Northern general. However, the Pinkertons were hired to find the money, and the McCoys had already had a visit from the Pinkertons. They needed to turn the heat toward others but didn't want to incriminate innocent folks. So they devised a plan to give bags of coins to robbers already active in neighboring states.
Of course, it would not be logical to hand the money over, so the McCoys devised clever, if dangerous, plans to relieve themselves of some of the gold coins. Fortunately, the robbers didn't think too long or hard about their new bounty. They just started spending it, and that brought the Pinkertons to their doors.