In a departure from his tales of contemporary or near-future conflicts, Coyle (Code of Honor, 1994) gets off to an absorbing start on a new Civil War series. Following a girl's violent but accidental death (which is hushed up), Princeton student James Bannon is banished to Virginia Military Institute by his overbearing father, a widowed Irish immigrant whose business achievements have not earned him the social acceptance he craves. Younger brother Kevin (who's actually responsible for the tragic mishap) remains at home in New Jersey and enrolls at Rutgers. Once the battle between North and South is joined, James follows VMI best friend Will MacPherson into the Virginia Volunteers, while Bannon päre uses his political connections to obtain the insecure Kevin a commission in the state militia. Ignorant of the other's whereabouts, the two brothers (whose loyalty has survived their separation) fight on opposite sides in some epic campaigns from Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg through the Wilderness. Meanwhile, as the struggle between Union and Confederate forces grinds on, both men suffer grievous personal losses but find love amid the carnage: a more self-assured Kevin with Harriet Shields, a headstrong daughter of the local gentry who crosses the Mason-Dixon line to nurse the wounded; and alienated James with Mary Beth, Will's rebel sister. The brothers finally meet during the fierce clash atop Gettysburg's Seminary Ridge. Following a brief, emotional encounter, however, they part. Renewed in spirit, James marches off to continue fighting for the lost cause he now supports wholeheartedly, while Kevin and Harriet are left to wonder when or whether their paths will cross again. Authentic accounts of murderous combat on home-front battlefields, plus nuanced portrayals of men and women at arms. A rally-round-the-flag triumph with storytelling appeal for the Blue or the Gray.
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-684-80392-5
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
A gentle exploration of tragedy, hope, the power of Christmas, and the possibility of miracles.
Preparing for Christmas in Cambridge, Massachusetts, church members face challenges aided by faith and friends and inspired by the eponymous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—who, in an alternate storyline, fights despair as he confronts personal tragedy and the Civil War.
Christmas is fast approaching, and St. Margaret’s Catholic Church is a hub of activity. The children’s choir, under Sophia’s talented guidance, is practicing its program, which includes “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” the lovely carol based on the poem by Cambridge’s own Longfellow. Sophia is determined to remain optimistic this season, despite her recently broken engagement and the threat of losing her job next spring. After all, these children lift her spirits, and she can always depend on Lucas, the saintly accompanist, to be there for her. Particularly talented are the red-haired siblings, serious Charlotte and precocious Alex, whose father is serving with the National Guard in Afghanistan and whose mother is overwhelmed by the crushing news that her beloved husband is missing, a fact she's trying to keep secret. Father Ryan loves his calling and his congregants and is doing his best to aid them in their trials even as he navigates his own fractured family. The odd but cheerful, elderly Sister Winifred offers help and reassurance with eerily perfect timing and perception. Meanwhile, in a separate historical storyline that is lightly attached to the contemporary one, we follow Longfellow through the Civil War and the life-altering events that tested his faith and nearly crushed his spirit. Chiaverini stitches together a series of lightly interlocking contemporary vignettes in an intriguing way and manages to tuck away all the ragged edges in the emotionally satisfying conclusion. In the background are Longfellow’s tragic Civil War–era experiences, which, while poignant, feel emotionally distant.
A gentle exploration of tragedy, hope, the power of Christmas, and the possibility of miracles.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-525-95524-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
The queen of Texas melodrama takes metaphor perhaps a step too far as she pits her heart-transplant-patient heroine against a serial killer obsessed with stopping her new heart. Having as a child survived Hodgkin's disease, her parents' double suicide, and life in a series of substandard foster homes, feisty redhead Cat Delaney is more than able to wisecrack her way through a heart transplant operation at the peak of her career. Famous as a star of the television soap opera Passages, Cat experiences both a literal and figurative change of heart after her surgery, abruptly opting to drop her acting career, move to San Antonio, and create a local news segment aimed at matching abandoned children with good adoptive homes. She breaks off an affair with Dr. Dean Spicer, her wealthy cardiologist, and falls madly in love with Alex Pierce (``His tongue was nimble, his appetite carnal''), a Houston cop turned mystery writer whose sudden appearance in her life may not be coincidental. When newspaper articles describing murders of other heart transplantees begin appearing in Cat's mailbox, she realizes she's being stalked by a lunatic obsessed with stilling the heart of a loved one who may or may not be her donor. As the anniversary of Cat's transplant nears, the threat of violence grows greater. But from which direction comes the danger?: From her hostile secretary, possibly related to a woman who was murdered on the day of her transplant? From the stepfather of one of Cat's orphan clients, whose greatest rival may have been Cat's donor? Or (horrors) from sexy Alex, whose past holds more secrets than she could ever guess? Highly schematic and hastily sketched, this nevertheless provides a satisfying dose of Brown's (Where There's Smoke, 1993, etc.) famously raunchy sex scenes (`` `I want to know I'm with a man. I want to be taken. I want—' `You want to be fucked.' ''), and a certain raw enthusiasm that will no doubt increase her legion of fans. (First printing of 300,000; Literary Guild main selection)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-446-51656-2
Page Count: 432
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
