Far from the cries and smoke of combat, forty murdered slaves hang at a crossroads and only one man insists on justice. Major Abel Jones investigates a dark world of midnight savagery, ritual murder, and sudden combat, as desperate men and women struggle to survive the fury of a divided nation in this Owen Parry novel of the Civil War.
From Booklist Starred Review Dispatched to the battle-scarred ridges of Tennessee by President Abraham Lincoln, Federal Agent Abel Jones endeavors to solve an exceedingly heinous crime steeped in racial hatred and teeming with biblical overtones. When Union troops discover the brutal massacre of 40 runaway slaves, General Grant worries that abolitionists, endangering the war effort at a particularly critical juncture, will politically exploit the slaughter. Commissioned as Grant's emissary, Jones seeks safe passage across enemy lines to confer with Confederate commanders equally worried that publication of the vile nature of the atrocities will weaken European support for their cause. Teaming up with an aristocratic Southern officer, Jones must cross both physical and emotional borders in order to comprehend the shockingly twisted logic that prompted the senseless bloodletting. In addition to expertly capturing the elegant cadence of Civil War-era dialogue, Parry has also authentically evoked the horror, confusion, and chaos that characterized the conflict between the states. Realistically detailed, bristling with intelligent suspense, and featuring a stoically introspective hero, this superb piece of period fiction will appeal to both Civil War buffs and fans of historical mysteries. Margaret Flanagan
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Review A gripping story...astounding battle scenes...this novel stands out. -- Publishers Weekly
Vibrant...haunting...evocatively written...Parry's knowledge of the era is nicely on display here. -- Kirkus Reviews
Fiction,Historical,military

zlib/no-category/Ralph Peters (as Owen Parry)/Call Each River Jordan_115771722.epub

Peters, Ralph

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated

National Book Network

United States, United States of America

of the Civil War, 2023

Mechanicsburg, uuuu

“Bristling with intelligent suspense . . . this superb piece of period fiction will appeal to both Civil War buffs and fans of historical mysteries.” — Booklist
Union Major Abel Jones, Welsh immigrant and veteran of Britain’s distant wars, survives Shiloh’s slaughter only to face the riddle of a different kind of massacre. Not far from the cries and smoke of combat, murdered slaves hang at a crossroads. Their blood may be on Northern as well as Southern hands, with devastating political repercussions. In a country shocked by casualty lists and unready for emancipation, only one man insists on justice—a plain-speaking officer with a Welsh lilt, a limp, and his own troubled conscience. The chain of death soon proves as brutal and consuming as the war itself, dragging Major Jones into a dark world of midnight savagery, terrible secrets, and sudden combat, as desperate men and women struggle to survive the fury of a divided nation. Suspenseful, swift-paced, surprisingly humorous, and populated with unforgettable characters, Call Each River Jordan offers a fresh and haunting vision of a past still with us today.
“An exceptionally fine historical novel. Owen Parry deserves to be ranked with the best Civil War novelists.” — The Flint Journal
“Parry’s knowledge of the era is nicely on display here: his scenes of Corinth, Mississippi, and its sheltered wounded are vibrant, with a haunting eye for detail . . . well informed and evocatively written.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A gripping story . . . astounding battle scenes . . . this novel stands out.” — Publishers Weekly

2024-12-23