Children Of Cain [Paperback]

Miriam Grace Monfredo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2003

In this thrilling conclusion to the Civil War trilogy, Bronwen Llyr must convince Union Army generals of General Lee's battle plans before Northern forces retreat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

All the women are smart and beautiful, all the men debonair and handsome, in the less than stellar concluding volume of Monfredo's Cain trilogy (Sisters of Cain; Brothers of Cain), which also counts as the ninth mystery in the author's generally strong Seneca Falls series. The three protofeminists who are the trilogy's major recurring characters-the Llyr sisters, Bronwen and Kathryn, and their aunt, Glynis-continue their individual crusades against a backdrop of muddled troop movements and dire battlefield conditions during the Civil War's lengthy and bloody Peninsula Campaign of 1862. Treasury Agent Bronwen matches wits with the enemy (declared and undeclared) and contends with her nemesis, real-life private detective Allan Pinkerton. Kathryn fights to win respect for women as nurses. Librarian Glynis leaves Seneca Falls to travel to the battle site in response to an urgent summons. Unfortunately, the characters seem to be marking time through much of the book. Glynis vacillates between two men; Bronwen fences with her old foe, Colonel de Warde, a Southern sympathizer; and Kathryn nurses her patients and the heart wound inflicted by Dr. Gregg Travis. Bronwen cuts the most heroic figure, repeatedly challenging the enemy on his own ground to gather information about a plot to assassinate President Lincoln. Only near the end does Monfredo hit her stride, as Bronwen seeks to stop an infamous blockade-runner and unmask a traitor. Despite its weaknesses, this latest is sure to please the author's fans.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A lucid vision of the American Civil War. (Midwest Book Review)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425191303
• ISBN-13: 978-0425191309
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #674,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lucid vision of the American Civil War, September 8, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Children of Cain (Cain Trilogy) (Hardcover)

After Bronwen Llyr rescues her brother from a confederate prison, she makes her way back to the Union lines when she discovers that the southern armies are on the march instead of protecting Richmond. She takes her knowledge back to Washington but it is hard to get anyone to believe her until the southern army strikes at General McClellon's troops.

Against the advice of her superior but with the blessing of President Lincoln, she returns to the Confederate hospital of Chimborazo to rescue her sister, a young child, the president's friend and a dog. She succeeds in her mission but all of them are caught in the midst of a great battle, seeing much courage and death. Bronwen is injured and would like to go home but her love of country, her honor and courage makes her stay in a war that seems to have no end.

After reading CHILDREN OF CAIN readers will have no doubt that, without the benefit of CNN, "War is Hell" on civilians and soldiers alike. Bronwen is a heroine in the best sense of the word because she keeps on going even when her mind tells her to give up. Though a historiographer's bane, Miriam Grace Monfredo brings a lucid vision of the American Civil War that is not widely known and does so in humanistic terms.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice history, minor mystery, October 13, 2002

By 

JOHN A. BROUSSARD (Kamuela, HI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Children of Cain (Cain Trilogy) (Hardcover)

As though the bloody battle of Malvern Hill weren't enough, Northern spy Bronwyn Llyr stumbles across the murder of Quiller, one of the men she had been sent to Richmond to rescue. In the midst of the retreating Union army, she somehow manages to make it to Harrison Landing along with her sister, Kathryn, young Natty and his dog, an ailing fellow spy named Marshall, and O'Hara, whom she suspects of being a double agent. There she finds that new orders await her, and she's off on yet another spy mission while still trying to discover Quiller's killer. This time, she's expected to find out how blockade runners are successfully bringing the Confederacy much-needed ammunition. She is also expected to investigate whether there is any truth to the rumor that an assassination attempt will be made on Lincoln's life when he arrives on a visit to the Union forces at the Landing. CHILDREN OF CAIN is chiefly a spy novel, with the Civil War setting looming large. Monfredo knows well the history of that period and manages graphic-perhaps too graphic-descriptions of the carnage. A first-rate historical mystery, with most of the emphasis on the history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very enjoyable read, September 5, 2002

By 

Siobhan Noble (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children of Cain (Cain Trilogy) (Hardcover)

I found this book to be a very enjoyable page-turner, and a satisfying end to Monfredo's Cain trilogy. I enjoy this series particularly because of it provides insight into history from a woman's viewpoint. At times, word choices border on the pulp-fiction side "his eyes flashed wickedly." However, on balance the book was a nicely crafted thriller that avidly portrayed the horors of the civil war's peninsular campaign. I am looking forward to Monfredo's next book, although I hope it focuses back on Seneca Falls, New York and heroine Glynis Tryon. Although Bronwyn Llyr cuts a swashbuckling figure, I feel Monfredo hasn't provided readers a connection to Bronwyn's heart and mind as she has with Glynis.