Rating: 
Summary: Who IS this guy?
Review: These are wonderful books that reveal what words can really do, when wielded by a true talent. They bring a fascinating period in our history to vivid life, without glorifying or glamorizing the horror of war, which you can practically smell coming off the page.Others have remarked on the cleverness of the references and cameo appearances that sent me scurrying to my encyclopedia for more info. Clever but not grandstanding. Having read the first two volumes, I'm torn between rushing through the next two or taking a breather, so I can savor them fully. Finally, I wish I had more clues to the person behind the pseudonym. What else has he (or she?) written?
Rating:
Summary: Abel Jones among the Irish
Review: This second installment in a Civil War mystery series is as good as the first, and I enjoyed that one very much. You get a lot of background into the war on the "home front" that is usually ignored by books about this period. The protagonist, Major Abel Jones, is a well-drawn character. He is a bit priggish and highly opinionated, and spends a bit too much time mooning over his wife. but he doesn't mind admitting when he is wrong. There are a lot of historical characters thrown into this work, and I question whether they are just there for the background, for a gathering of Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in a Methodist parsonage in a small town in New York state appears to strain credibility a little. It really doesn't matter, for the story line grabs you from the beginning, and doesn't let go until the end. War is a terrible thing, as we see from the letters of Jones' surgeon friend, serving his time with General Grant in the "West". This is a series well worth reading, and I will continue to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This second installment in Parry's Civil War era series of mystery adventures is as good as the first. The quirky, limping Welsh hero, Abel Jones, looks into plots and subplots among the Irish underclass in snowy upstate New York. He has now developed a sidekick, the courageous if disreputable Jimmy Malloy, and a soulmate, physician Mick Tyrone. It is Abel Jones, with his moral rigidity, kind heart, and smile-raising introspection who drives the story. He is a wonderful narrator. Parry has written another great story.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This second installment in Parry's Civil War era series of mystery adventures is as good as the first. The quirky, limping Welsh hero, Abel Jones, looks into plots and subplots among the Irish underclass in snowy upstate New York. He has now developed a sidekick, the courageous if disreputable Jimmy Malloy, and a soulmate, physician Mick Tyrone. It is Abel Jones, with his moral rigidity, kind heart, and smile-raising introspection who drives the story. He is a wonderful narrator. Parry has written another great story.
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