Brothers of Cain

I'm interested in history, but I have a hard time keeping all the facts and dates straight. Ms. Monfredo presents the true historical background in a way that is SO interesting I just want to "drive" all the way through the books! I find it immensely helpful that she includes a small encyclopedia of the true facts in the back of each book; sometimes there's a bit more interesting information about a place or a character, or an explanation of how a place or character in the book differs (or not) from truth. I only wish that there were more books in the series, this being the next to last one. :(

Clearly the membership of The Historical Mystery Appreciation Society strongly disagreed with the reviewer below. HMAS gave BROTHERS OF CAIN the Herodotus Award as the Best Historical Mystery of 2001. And it was well deserved.

This is the second installment in Monfredo's 'Cain' series which focuses on heroine Bronwyn Llyr and the Civil War. This was a great fast-paced thriller, chocked full of historical detail as are all of Monfredos books. It would be helpful to have read the first book, but it is not entirely necessary. The historical quotes at the beginning of each chapter were fascinating and added another level of depth to the book. I enjoyed the subplots going on within Bronwyn's family-- including the budding romance between Bronwyn's sister and Dr. Travis, Bronwyn's brother's experiences as a prisoner of war Libby Prison, as well as the sad goodbye Bronwyn's Aunt Glynis must say to her longtime 'friend' Cullen Stuart. I was surprised to see a kinder and gentler agent O'Hara in the second installment, as I thought his unabashed male-chauvinism served merely as a foil to the liberated Bronwyn in the first novel. He was back, and provided some comic relief as well as a point of tension for Bronwyn who is unsure of his trustworthiness. I am always happy to find that Monfredo has continued to focus on women's experiences of history. Feminists will probably particularly enjoy this novel, but it should bequite accessible and enjoyable to a wider audience.

In 1862, the War Between the States turns ugly as members of the same family may be fighting on different sides. This is not the case for the Llyr family who is staunchly pro-union. Kathryn is a nurse in the Volunteer Sanitary Commission, giving aid to anyone who is wounded. Her sister Bronwyn is an espionage agent working for the Treasury Department. They are both watching the wounded depart when a union private tells them that the Confederacy captured their brother Seth. Bronwyn is determined to free her brother before they can connect him to her and hang him as a spy. Their superiors, including President Lincoln, recognize her determination and will let her try to free her brother while she completes her real assignment in Richmond where her brother is being kept. She has to somehow get the tobacco the English and French paid for out of confederate hands and into the buyers. This is needed so that the two European nations will think twice before enlisting on the side of the Confederacy. Spies, double agents, and treachery surround Bronwyn as she tries to do her jobs while keeping her skin intact. Civil War buffs and fans of historical mysteries will not want to miss BROTHERS OF CAIN, a novel that stirs both the blood and the intellect. It's obvious that Miriam Grace Monfredo has done meticulous research in order to give a realistic depiction of this phase of the war. Readers will believe they are part of the action in this historical espionage thriller.Harriet Klausner

Brothers of Cain, coined a "history-mystery," is set among the American Civil War. Author Miriam Grace Monfredo stayed true to the actual events of the war while placing several fictional characters among the strife: namely the Llyr siblings. Brother Seth, an officer in the Union army, and his two sisters Bronwen and Kathryn.In spring of '62, after awakening in a muddied ditch on a Virginia battlefield littered with dead blue- and grey-uniformed men, Seth, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Union army is captured by Confederates. His sisters Kathryn, a Civil War nurse, and Bronwen, a Union Treasury agent, by a twist of fate learn of his capture. Come hell or high water, Bronwen is determined to free him before the Confederacy learns that Seth is the brother of a Union spy. With the help of Abraham Lincoln, Bronwen sets her cap for Richmond on a two-fold mission: free up some of the tobacco stored in Richmond warehouses to pacify Britain and France, tobacco that's stuck in Richmond due to the Union blockade; and free her brother from Libby Prison.Bronwen makes her way through the Confederacy, always one step away from being recognized or discovered by Southern agents. During her journey through the South, she meets many historical and fictional figures who assist her efforts. But will she make it to her brother's rescue prior to the hangman's noose being fitted around his neck?Monfredo's style of writing captures the essence of a period when the nation was at war with itself. Her descriptive pace flows with ease, each action clearly visible, purposeful. The characters, although fictitious, come to life through each action of bravery, each perception of the war, and through the digestion of the death and destruction the war leaves in its path. Monfredo easily brings to the conscious of the reader the harsh realities of war-we can hear the cannonfire, smell the stench of the dead lying among the battlefields, see the pain and suffering of those dying in the field hospitals, and we can feel the excitement and fear that courses through Bronwen as she continually looks over her shoulder during her mission and wonders whom she can trust...