Customer Reviews

Children Of Cain

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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

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.

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.

With Miriam Monfredo's books, the reader can get lost in not only the story but also in the settings. "Children of Cain" is no exception. From a very vivid personal perspective through the eyes of the lead characters, you can feel the mud on your shoes, hear the horrifying sounds of war, feel the despair and terror and even the hope. If you had a time machine and journeyed back to these places at these times, you would know these people on sight. "Children of Cain" is another amazing work.

If you've read my reviews of Ms. Monfredo's books, you know that I like the way she takes real history and folds it into her books, making a fun and interesting way to learn. This book is no different, but it ends in a way that just BEGS for more books! Hints of weddings, further adventures with Jacques, etc. need to be finished!!! Ms. Monfredo has even allowed her website, carrying her name, to fall into disuse. Where are you, Ms. Monfredo? You need to finish the series!!!

In some ways I'm disappointed that the Seneca Falls series is over. I have thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Monfredo's creation and her characters. But this book is a fitting end to the series. We see Kathryn come into her own while she defends female nurses in the battlefield. We see Bronwen face off with her various enemies while she tries to unmask a traitor. And we finally see Glynis make up her mind between her two flamboyant suitors. I love the mention made of true events from the Civil War and the way Monfredo's characters put the reader right into the picture. Now I'm trying to find another series of books that are set during these uneasy and bloody times of this great war between the states.

This is a great book in a great series. Even my husband liked it and we both felt that we learned a great deal about the Civil War.