“Kevin McCarthy shows himself to be an inspired explorer of history’s lost and forgotten causes. Wolves of Eden is a war story, mystery and elegy―thrilling, unflinching and finely observed.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
This is a novel that takes place during the Indian wars soon after the civil war. One of the major confrontations in the book actually happened, lending an air of authenticity to the story.
This story centers around four men. Lieutenant Martin Molly, an alcoholic who after braking his leg will see his health quickly deteriorate, and his aide Corporal Daniel Kohn who have been ordered to investigate the murder of a politically connected sutler and his wife who worked out of Fort Kearney. They have been ordered to find the killers and bring them back to be hung.
The other two in our story are Michael and Thomas O’Driscoll, 2 Irish immigrant brothers who after leaving the army at the end of the civil war have gone place to place looking for work and hardly finding any when they decide to re-enlist.
Their stories are told side by side, with the story of the brothers starting in the past.
The investigation at Fort Kearney is not welcome by anyone. The official story is the Sutler and his wife were killed by Indians, but many soldiers don’t believe it as the sutler was owed a lot of money by the soldiers, and he also dealt with prostitution and liquor, both which more often than not would lead to trouble. The O’Driscoll’s were frequent customers of the Sutler and Thomas has a special relationship with one of the Indian prostitutes. No one in the fort wants to assist in the investigation.
The relationship amongst the soldiers with their fellow men and with the Indians rings true and the fear and pressure of everyday life on the plains is presented very realistically, giving the reader a true glimpse of what everyday life was like serving in the army out in the plains in Indian territory.
Well written the story will keep your attention to its conclusion and actual history will become part of our ending.
Recommended.
Reviewed by:
Richard Franco
Added 2nd February 2019
