Rebels of Babylon

If you're one of those folks who thinks reading just "ain't real enough" life for you, and you fill your days and nights with wheel barrel haulin' of half decayed tree bark and wormy soil to make yourself feel useful to God and country. Well then I feel mighty sorry for you. You are missing out on one of the true treasures of Americana by not reading Owen Parry's mystery novels of the "War of Noth'ron Aggression"; the master of the genre. I'm not going into a synopsis of the novel, that's already done here times over, but suffice it to say the book put a big smile on my face as I clutched it to my bosom after each session of reading. Parry's other novels were wonders, especially "Call Each River Jordan", but this latest will have you marveling over each sentence like it's a snifter of Highland Scotch after a morning in the pews with "polite society". Such clever goodness from the sad dark of the Civil War. Thank you Owen Parry. I sweep off my dusty brimmed hat, bowing in antique gestures to your fabulous skills and joyous imaginings with English words and letters. Sheer genius.

This is a marvelous read, and those already familiar with the Abel Jones series will not be disappointed. Again, I am amazed and appreciative of the amount of research that Mr. Parry puts into his novels, and this book is a prime example. It is a wonderful story that not only entertains, but also enlightens about one of the most important eras in our history, and, one of the most important cities and cultures (New Orleans) in our country. I couldn't put it down and read it all in one sitting. Thank again to the author, and I look forward to reading about how the venerable Abel Jones will come to grips with his latest personal struggle regarding family over duty!

Wryly, dryly witty and often hilarious, with a colorful, multi-layered setting, and a delightfully over-the-top plot, narrated by a sharp, determined, bull-headed Welshman, (ably assisted and often rescued by his infinitely more flexible, practical sidekick, Barnaby B. Barnaby), this sixth Abel Jones novel has everything going for it. A straight-laced Methodist might feel a bit out of his element in roiling, seething, party-loving 1863 New Orleans. But Major Jones doesn't permit himself much self-doubt or uncertainty. Sent by President Lincoln to solve the murder of an abolitionist do-gooder in the Union-occupied city, Jones plunges into the fray from the first page, chasing a black voodoo priestess with a large snake out of a convent and through the unfamiliar, treacherous streets. He's not quite sure what the chase is about, since the nun who raised the alarm spoke only French, and he never does catch the woman. Quite the opposite. The woman disappears and Jones finds himself cornered by three thugs on a rooftop. He fights them off and makes his escape only to be ambushed in a bawdy house, knocked out with ether and entombed. Literally. "I had been buried alive. Shut in with bones and rot and rags, piled up so high they pressed me against the roof of the narrow crypt....My final breaths would be fumes off rotting corpses. The thought put my lingering toothache in its place." The toothache will return, though, to hilarious and horrific effect, culminating in a visit to a sadistic dentist with, unknown to Jones, rebel sympathies. After the initial poking and prodding, the slovenly dentist produces a bottle of whisky: " `I have taken the pledge, sir,' I told him, not without a certain regret. He fortified himself with a swig from the bottle....He chose a tool that might have done for a blacksmith's shop....I tasted metal. And rust." The "embarrassed" (naked) corpse is the daughter of a prominent northerner and it's not long before Jones has received several wildly differing views of her. Was she plain or beautiful? Naïve or scheming? Prude or libertine? Racist and mean, or principled and generous? Jones had not been pleased to be handed this case - "in the midst of so much death I cared little for Miss Peabody, who was unknown to me." And his inadvertent plunge into voodoo distracts him further. Racial tension is high in New Orleans where blacks are newly freed and their former masters have lost their freedom and much of their fortune to Yankee victors. Many former slaves have gone missing and there are rumors of mass murder, and resurrected dead. Uncertainty and fear run rampant. Jones makes his way through New Orleans society, gathering mostly cryptic information from the powerful of both races. Against his God-fearing will, to unravel the mysteries - the missing blacks, Miss Peabody's death, and several more gruesome murders and abductions - Jones undergoes an elaborate, terrifying voodoo ritual. Voodoo, though he cannot believe in it,

Owen Parry's *Rebels of Babylon* is a delight. This is the sixth in the award-winning Abel Jones series of Civil War mysteries, and the author continues to spin satisfying stories in remarkably vivid prose. *Rebels of Babylon* unfolds in the streets of wartime New Orleans with all its riddles, enchantments, and frights. In each of the Abel Jones mysteries, Owen Parry has taken the reader to new landscapes and outposts of the war, educating as well as entertaining us. His portrayal of the people and scenes of Civil War New Orleans is fascinating, as we follow the hero through many twists and narrow escapes. Parry gives us the smells and tastes and textures of the city and the port, and leads us by the hand from the darkness of nighttime voodoo rituals into even more chilling incidents in the light of day. Just as the descriptions are colorful and the characters are lively, the story itself is intriguing. Sent to investigate a murder, Abel finds both familiar and unfathomable motives at its heart. As with the other Abel Jones mysteries, this one comes full circle. No loose ends are left untied, and no aspect of the story seems unnatural -- although in the course of the tale we encounter plenty of unnatural scenes and moments! Another aspect of the book (and the series) that I particularly enjoyed was watching the continued development of the main character. This isn't quite the same Abel Jones we first encountered in *Faded Coat of Blue*. Abel's experiences have changed him in subtle, interesting ways. Those who've read previous Abel Jones mysteries will find their expectations met or exceeded by *Rebels of Babylon*, and for those who are new to the series, I think this installment will make you want to read the earlier books too. One caution bears repeating: Expect to encounter language and attitudes of the 1860s, not the early 21st century. It's good to know that such great writing has found the commercial success necessary to keep the series going. Now that we've seen wartime New Orleans, I wonder where Owen and Abel will take us next. I heartily recommend *Rebels of Babylon* to fans of mystery.

It's early 1863, and the Southern city of New Orleans is under Federal control. Major Abel Jones is sent there to investigate the murder of the daughter of a prominent Northern politico, but this seemingly simple case turns extremely complicated. By the time the novel is done, there are more killings, kidnappings, fires, deceptions, etc., than could possibly populate three other books.Through it all our intrepid hero strives to maintain his stiff feeling of dignity and religious morality, although they are sorely tested in this type of setting. I believe that this series grows stronger with each new book, and I eagerly await the next installment of Jones' adventures!