Faded Coat of Blue [Hardcover]

Abel Jones gets chosen, for some unknown reason, by Gen. MacLellan to find the murderer of a well-known abolitionist officer. Once the introductory portion is done, Jones actually gets on the case and the book picks up considerably. The plot becomes the core rather than the character and that plot is fairly good.

Mr. Parry captures Civil War Washington very well. His caricatures of the well-known charcters are terrific. One could picture Gen. MacLellan by the author's description and understand his personality perfectly in just the few pages devoted to him.

On the last page of the book, the author tells the reader that the adventures of Abel Jones are continued in the next book. That is fitting since the preceding few pages are devoted to his being hired on for more tasks. Athough I did not think so on page 100 or so, I am looking forward to the further adventures of Abel Jones.

First, the bad. Best I can tell from my little research, the author made a major historical blunder by his references to and descriptions of Thanksgiving in 1861 when I don't think it was celebrated. If my research is correct, if it was celebrated at all, it wouldn't have been as big a deal until at least 1863, two years after the setting. Finally, there is one chapter in the middle of the book that is devoted to the history of our character. While the information on the Battle of Bull Run is interesting, his childhood, history of his relationship his wife, and his fighting for the British in India seemed to be completely irrelevant to the story told here.

There is much to like about this book, however. While not what I was expecting by the heading "A novel of historical suspense," I was completely taken in by the mystery. There are some very well developed red herrings that confused me. Abel Jones is a flawed character with no real idea what he's doing, as he points out numerous times. I felt this was very realistic and refreshing. I had some suspicions as to the murder, but wasn't completely sure until the end. The book has a front porch storyteller first person narration style that draws you in and makes the book fun to read. And the author does a fantastic job of bring both the good and bad of November 1861 to vivid life.

Despite my reservations, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the US Civil War. I plan to check out Abel Jones' next adventure myself.

Abolitionist and Army Captain Anthony Fowler is found murdered on the edge of an army encampment near Washington DC in the early days of the war. General George McClellan chooses unsuspecting clerk, Captain Abel Jones, to investigate the murder. Jones is a transplanted Welshman who has already seen warfare in India as part of the Queen's army. Coming to the US for a better life, he finds himself pulled into the Civil War. Jones can best be described as a plodder. He is not a brilliant man, but a loyal, fair and deliberate one. He has strong Christian values and tries to live his life by them. Jones latches on to this murder inquiry and refuses to let up-even when he discovers the disturbing truth, his life is threatened and his superiors call him off the case.

Parry is a master at making us feel that we are living during the 1860's. He fills his book with enough historical fact to be convincing, and has thoroughly researched such topics as The Civil War, the military, immigration, prostitution, disease, food, clothing and general conditions at this point in time. One of the best parts in this book is a conversation that takes place between Abel Jones and Abraham Lincoln. Although such a conversation is totally fictional, Parry has enough knowledge of Lincoln to write a dialogue that could have actually passed from Lincoln's lips.

But what makes this such a charming and delightful book is Jones himself. Written in the first person, Jones speaks with the rich and lyrical language of a man from Wales. I will admit that it took me a chapter or two to grow accustomed to this style of speech. But once I did, I was smitten. Jones is also a keen observer of human nature, and some of his observations are priceless. A few that caught my eye include:

"War disappoints long before it kills."

"The wickedest place in hell should be reserved for those who paint war in glory and cause young men to dream of it."

"There is too much puffery and pretense in a novel for me. It is very much a lady's province, and I always suspect the men who write the things of unsound habits."

Abel Jones is sometimes a little too rigid and self-deprecating to a fault. But he is an endearing character, nonetheless.

Faded Coat of Blue is a book that I hated to see end. But the good news is that Parry is making the exploits of Abel Jones into a series, and Call Each River Jordan, Shadows of Glory and Honor's Kingdom have already been published. They have definitely been added to my reading list.