Secret Service Agents Merritt and Argent are tasked by President Grant to retrieve his goddaughter, Mary Warner from her farm in Kentucky and bring her to Washington D.C. This seems like an easy task after their recent bust of a counterfeiting ring in Cincinnati. However, once Merritt and Argent arrive at that Warner farm, they find a young woman trying to keep the farm afloat after the death of the rest of her family. Mary Warner is still reeling in grief. Her actions and mannerisms don't reflect those of a young woman at the time. She is very hesitant to leave her homestead and travel by train. Mary is also very good at undermining any of Merritt and Argents' rules. What should be an easy three-day train journey soon turns into a multi-week adventure as Mary's behavior challenges them and the Agents are pulled back into the counterfeiting trial.
With each chapter representing one day in Mary Warner's journey from Kentucky to Washington, One April After the War, provides a highly detailed account of Mary, Merritt and Argent's adventure. Mary's circumstance and personality pulled me in from the beginning as Merritt and Warner arrived at her home to find everything out of the ordinary. I liked that Mary challenged the Agents, showed her independence and demanded what she needed for her comfort while traveling. I was intrigued by her family's situation and the methods that Mary was using to cope with her grief as well as run the farm. This book only covers half the journey and leads to interesting developments in the relationship between Mary, Merritt and Argent. It seems like the Agents begin to figure out that Mary is a strong, independent, young women only to increasingly treat her like a prisoner. The mystery of why Mary is being shipped halfway across the country to meet with the President becomes secondary to the mystery of why someone is out to get Agents Merritt and Argent at the end of the book. With that, I'd love to finish Mary's adventure in the second book where she will hopefully make it to Washington D.C.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
With each chapter representing one day in Mary Warner's journey from Kentucky to Washington, One April After the War, provides a highly detailed account of Mary, Merritt and Argent's adventure. Mary's circumstance and personality pulled me in from the beginning as Merritt and Warner arrived at her home to find everything out of the ordinary. I liked that Mary challenged the Agents, showed her independence and demanded what she needed for her comfort while traveling. I was intrigued by her family's situation and the methods that Mary was using to cope with her grief as well as run the farm. This book only covers half the journey and leads to interesting developments in the relationship between Mary, Merritt and Argent. It seems like the Agents begin to figure out that Mary is a strong, independent, young women only to increasingly treat her like a prisoner. The mystery of why Mary is being shipped halfway across the country to meet with the President becomes secondary to the mystery of why someone is out to get Agents Merritt and Argent at the end of the book. With that, I'd love to finish Mary's adventure in the second book where she will hopefully make it to Washington D.C.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
