Children of Cain

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!!!

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.

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

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.