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Summary: Wonderful history but light on the mystery
Review: Historical mysteries are gaining in popularity and this book is a good example of how well this genre can be done. A beguiling main character, Captain Abel Jones is a recent immigrant to the United States. His past army career has led to an position in the United States army. Due to injuries, he is sidelined but called upon one day to investigate the murder of a young, well known abolitionist. His investigation unearths the secrets of many but ultimately finds the truth concerning the death of the young man. The Civil War element is very well done but the mystery itself seems too inconsequential. I was not particularly surprised at the uncovering of the real killer. However, I would read the second in the series because of the great writing and character development presented in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Historical Mystery
Review: This story was an engaging mix of historical fiction and the "who done it" you find with a mystery. I have read many civil war stories but this mix made it interestingly different. I especially liked the chapters about the main character's time spent fighting English wars in India, something I knew little about. I look forward to reading the future adventures of Abel Jones.
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Summary: Mixed Feelings About Our Past
Review: I was very impressed by the content and style of this Civil War mystery that turned out to be so much more. Captain Abel Jones, the engaging hero and narrator, is hired as a secret agent to investigate the murder of a young Northern volunteer. During the process of his investigation, the reader is exposed to a diversity of characters living in Civil War America. They are faced with several social issues, especially slavery, miscegenation, and prejudice as America of the 1860's is brought to life. The story immerses the reader into a culture and society that is our heritage and I, for one, am left with mixed feelings. On one hand it's embarrassing and shameful to know that some Americans behaved the way they did; on the other hand it's reassuring and with gratitude to know we recovered as a nation and continue to work towards unity. Any writing that can stimulate reflection upon our past is worth reading.
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Summary: this book doesn't stink!
Review: A Civil War mystery? I thought to myself when I pulled "Faded Coat of Blue" out of my Christmas stocking. You must be joking, surely. Talking about marketing to a niche. You'll get both the Civil War buffs and the mystery lovers. This guy's gonna make a mint, but his book probably stinks.So I finally read the thing...and...it's great! It doesn't stink! This is a good, well-written, well-researched book with interesting characters and some depth, despite all the thriller junk! I hope Parry - or whoever he really is - does make a mint! This is a rare crossover book, combines low-brow thriller plot with high-brow character development. Normally I dislike mysteries and thrillers. The plots are homogenous. The characters too stereotypical. And "Faded Coat of Blue" does suffer somewhat from these deficiencies. C'mon, the guy's a nobody and he meets General McClellan AND Abraham Lincoln! He witnesses the last meeting of McClellan and Scott, like some sort of "We Were There" book!.... But Captain Abel Jones makes up for the book's deficiencies. The book is told from a first-person standpoint, an unreliable narrator with a rich and complex past he's ashamed of, which leaks out during the course of the book. Filled with contradictions - the loving husband and professional soldier, the pious Samaritan and cold-blooded killer - aching with emotional conflicts - duty versus domesticity, etc. - Jones unveils the details of the story's murder along with the details of his life, both stories are intertwined and interdependent. Great characterization, this. The book also feels authentic. Jones' voice feels like that of a 19th-century Welshman. Historical characters that appear in the book feel like their historical selves, contain the contradictions their actual selves contained. Parry also manages to capture the feel of Washington DC with all its corruption and decay. I found only one overt historical inaccuracy, that of Thanksgiving, which wasn't a national holiday until after the Emancipation Proclamation. Can't until the sequel hits paperback.
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Summary: Greater story and greater writing
Review: This book is out of the ordinary. I delighted in the idioms of the day used on nearly every page. The similes and metaphors simply delight. And the story moves right along. Do we care about the characters? I should say we do.Abel is an admirable person and through him we gain insight into the mind of a person of integrity and honor. So if you want a crackling good story, plot that doesn't ever become unbelievable--not even close- and writing that includes idioms that amuse and elucidate and that moves you into the time and place, you can't go wrong here.
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Summary: Hurrah for Captain Abel Jones
Review: Owen Parry in Faded Coat of Blue introduces the reader to Captain Abel Jones a recent immigrant from Wales who serves his new country during the civil war as a way of to express his gratitude. Although injured he continues to work as a clerk until General McClellan asks him to investigate the murder of a prominent young abolitionist. We find Washington D.C. during this time to be a seedy, dirty place where schemers are profiting from the war. At this time there are already dangerous areas of the city which the solid citizen should avoid to remain healthy, wealthy and alive. Characters in this book are interesting and well defined. Jones is a man who believes strongly in honor. He befriends Dr. Mick Tyrone, another man of integrity and meets up again with an old comrade from India Jimmy Molloy, a roguish sort who will delight the reader This is an entertaining read and a good historical mystery for those who are fond of the genre.
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Summary: A "Dickens" of a book
Review: Reading this wonderful historical novel took me back to the days of my youth when I devoured Charles Dickens. Parry, like Dickens, excels in drawing characters that lodge in the mind. The Welshman Abel Jones, whose language is a haunting blend of Celtic melancholy and memory; the lovable ne'er-do-well Malloy, as ready to lend a helping hand as he is to pinch your purse; Cawber, the tycoon from the wrong side of the tracks who punches his way through high-bred and old-monied society: these and a couple of other characters come across with pulsating vividness. There's another similarity to Dickens here: Parry is much better at drawing characters and weaving beautiful language than he is at plot. The mystery that Captain Jones sets out to crack is a bit implausible, and the novel ends too breathlessly. Yet when weighed against Parry's marvellous characters and poetic prose, this seems a piddling sin. Who really remembers the plot of *Great Expectations*? But who can forget the characters of Pip, Joe, Miss Havisham, or Magwitch (Pip's criminal benefactor)? The same can be said about "Faded Coat of Blue*. Long after the details of the rather thin plot are forgotten, Parry's characters will remain in our memory. And for my money, that alone makes this novel well worth reading.
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Summary: Finally, real historical fiction!
Review: I grew up reading C.S. Forester, Kenneth Roberts, Neil Swanson, F. van Wyck Mason, Conrad Richter, Robert Lewis Taylor and many, many other fine historical fiction writers. Then, in the 1970s the genre seemed to disappear. (With one or two exceptions, Patrick O'Brian's wonderful Aubrey/Maturin series foremost.) In its place came these awful Gothic historical romance things. Today, my large local bookstore has a big section called "Historical Fiction" that is filled with these Fabio-on-the-cover novels that surely must please someone, but not me. Those are not historical fiction, in my book, excuse the pun. But I picked up FADED COAT OF BLUE by Owen Parry and found excellent writing, good historical fact, an interesting protagonist and a great read. I would recommend this book to anyone who remembers the good old days of fictional history. Abel Jones is an unusual and perhaps unlikely hero, but he's got guts and determination. I look forward to more in this series.
Rating:
Summary: a civil war detective story
Review: a civil war detective story. got my attention with the dedication. that was the hook. you have to read it to believe it. well researched, well written and when i finished--well read. special kudos for mr. parry.
Rating:
Summary: Good, Solid Characters and Period Detail
Review: Probably one of the most historically accurate dectective novels to arrive in 1999/2000. 'Faded Coat of Blue' has well developed characters, acting consistently within their historical settings. The murder setting and initial investigation is quite good and well paced; but introduction of McClellan and the motivation of the killers is a bit outlandish. Though McClellan is well done his interference in the case a bit implausible. The investigation by Abel Jones is on the mark but the introduction of the hero to Lincoln at the end of the book is a bit of a stretch. The character of Abel Jones is very strong and a personal favorite of mine. The descriptions of Washington D.C. during wartime rings true, much like 'Locust Alley' does with wartime Richmond, VA.
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