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'Faded Coat of Blue' by Owen Parry

Satisfying fiction sprinkled with fact

Sunday, September 05, 1999

By Susan Banks, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

	Faded Coat of Blue By Owen Parry Avon Books $23.00

Some books are a pleasant surprise, and Owen Parry’s first novel would certainly qualify as one.

This innocuous-looking book turns out to be a well-written mystery that melds Civil War-era Washington, D.C., and real historical characters with an engaging fictional protagonist called Abel Jones.

The book should appeal to Civil War enthusiasts and mystery lovers alike. Parry has his history down, even if he does skew it slightly for the sake of the story. Purists can rest assured because he admits his indiscretions in the introduction.

The book revolves around Jones, a Welsh immigrant, whose background includes a stint in the British military. Morally torn about his participation in the American war, he is drawn into an investigation of the murder of Anthony Fowler, a handsome, wealthy officer and the scion of a Philadelphia family with many secrets.

He looks into the killing as a favor to Gen. George McClellan, but his tenaciousness requires that he find answers to questions that others may not want asked. He even has a memorable encounter with President Lincoln.

Thanks to the advice of his beloved wife, Jones manages to bring the case to a satisfactory conclusion, paving the way for a new career and, of course, some more adventures: The publisher reports that a second Abel Jones book is under way.

This first novel and Parry’s Civil War knowledge would indicate that Parry will give readers some satisfying hours spent in the company of this engaging character.