Once you get into the dialogue of the novel, this engrossing, blood-soaked story sheds light on the Old West, during the era of Red Cloud’s War (this was not a topic covered in my long ago class on the civil war). The ties that bind us together in times of war, and the brutality that men inflict and survive, combined with the mystery of who murdered the sutler and his wife, create a compelling novel.

Dakota Territory, 1866. Following the murders of a frontier fort’s politically connected sutler and his wife in their illicit off-post brothel, Lieutenant Martin Molloy and his long-suffering orderly, Corporal Daniel Kohn, are ordered to track down the killers and return with “boots for the gallows” to appease powerful figures in Washington. The men journey west to the distant outpost in a beautiful valley, where the soldiers inside the fort prove to be violently opposed to their investigations.
This was a good story. It’s a historical crime novel, a nice break from what I normally read. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Michael and Thomas O'Driscoll wore "Union Blue" uniforms and bravely fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. Friends and neighbors proudly soldiered side by side. In the aftermath of the war, now 1866, unlike the Union Army, the Regular Army seemed to be comprised of former toughs, drunks and thieves..."a band of filthy highwaymen, "men working for $13/month and passage to the West".

Between 1866-68, Fort Phil Kearny was being constructed in Dakota Territory along the Bozeman Trail in Powder River Country. The fort would protect caravans of settlers as well as miners trying to strike it rich in the Montana gold fields. Soldiers would stand "picket" or embark upon the "woodtrain" travelling several miles to cut down trees to further the construction of the fort. These ventures encroached upon Indian territory and threatened Indian hunting grounds fueling Red Cloud's War, a brutal conflict between the U.S. Army and the Sioux.

After the Civil War ended, Michael and Thomas tried working as farm hands...but...why would a farmer employ two white brothers when it would be more cost efficient to hire four blacks who would perform double the work for the same pay? Tom and Michael decided to enlist in the Regular Army. They would be stationed out west and be required to assist in building Ft. Kearny.

Often soldiers kept journals of their wartime exploits and observations, some replete with drawings. Michael O'Driscoll kept "an account of sorts" since he was recently sequestered in the Guardhouse accused of a triple murder. One of the victims, sutler Kinney was brother-in-law to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. What was needed was "A neck for the noose...whether it be Indian, soldier..." Incarcerated, with time on his hands, Michael wrote the "True Testament and Confession of Soldier in the 18th Infantry in the Reg. Army of the U.S. at Fort Phil Kearny, Dakota Territory". Is he guilty? Is he a scapegoat? Michael's written account additionally describes the life changing injury brother Tom sustained in the Civil War.

Captain Molloy had dreams and nightmares, reliving the atrocities committed during the Civil War. His continual drunkenness and inability to care for his money and affairs became the job and burden of his orderly, Corporal Kohn. Kohn viewed the world as a place of religious intolerance, a place without love and kindness. While Capt. Molloy might soft pedal concerns regarding military procedure, Kohn was a by the book soldier. When Molloy and Kohn were deployed to Ft. Kearny to investigate the murders, Capt. Molloy felt that there was "no good end to such a task..."

"Wolves of Eden" by Kevin McCarthy was comprised of three converging storylines. Michael O'Driscoll's "True Testament" traces the path taken by Irish immigrants, Tom and Michael including their brief prior encounter with Capt. Molloy during the Civil War. Molloy and Kohn must investigate and determine the Guardhouse prisoner's possible culpability for the murders. Against the backdrop of Red Cloud's War, one witnesses the brutal conflicts and hostilities created by the Westward Expansion. Author McCarthy has written an excellent novel of historical fiction this reader highly recommends.

Thank you W.W. Norton & Company and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Wolves of Eden".

Centered after the Civil War in 1866, with the Bozeman War at hand, Wolves of Eden follows two main plotlines capturing the hardships and resilience of four men entrenched between orders, corruption and murder.

Spanning over the armed conflict between the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho on one side and the United States in Wyoming and Montana territories from 1866 to 1868, an area that was fought over for control of the western Powder River Country in present north-central Wyoming.

Irish man Captain Martin Molloy is still haunted by his actions in the war and he drinks it away. Jewish Corporal Daniel Kohn is caring for him and garners some of the spirits by doing so…just a few perks of the job. Unsure how Molloy will fair and trying to keep him from drinking to death, the two of them have to succumb to orders that take them out west to investigate the murder of the sutler and his wife at Fort Phil Kearney. Once there, the corruption, illegal activities and trouble awaiting them, prove a serious challenge to investigate.

In the meantime, hopping from little farming jobs to the next, Michael and Thomas O’Driscoll, Irish immigrant brothers, have returned from the front lines of the Civil War. Adapting poorly to this new life, they seek a chance and reenlist into the army to better their living. They are shipped right away to Fort Phil Kearney into the heart of the Powder River Valley where the merciless combat between American soldiers and the Red Cloud’s coalition of Native tribes is happening. Amidst it all, Thomas falls in love as battles escalate around. Here they will be challenged with worst combat situations they have ever been put through.

***

My interest and enjoyment of history and historical novels, if fiction or non-fiction, led me to request this title from Netgalley. I did not expect it to read like a textbook, nor did I hope to gain or seek knowledge of such kind from reading it. As I would consider my interest to be of leisure, I cannot attest or confirm the details of the research done for the backdrop of this novel. I do feel confident to say that I would imagine the characters speech patterns or wording between immigrants and military jargon to be of authentic sound.

Despite my interest in the matter, I found it difficult to become really invested in this novel. Perhaps it is a lack on my part versus the author’s fault, but I found the pacing of the novel to be of much variance sometimes. The characters were also a bit two dimensional for me. The space of the novel was all filled, but the depth I was seeking in the characters lacked for me. Personally, I do enjoy more emotional intricacies to be vested in the story, albeit I do understand or believe, that was not the purpose of the novel. The time period and subject matter definitely required strong characters.


I received a digital copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, soldiers who have nowhere else to go and who are not fit for civilized society, head to the frontier where the battle to claim the west from the Indians is raging. McCarthy tells the story of these rough, crude, battle-scarred men with sympathy. As the plot lines of “Wolves” converge, the heartbreaking humanity of the best and worst of these devastatingly scarred men is revealed.

First of all, let me thank Netgalley and W.W. Norton and Company for the chance to read and review this book: Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
As always, these thoughts are my own.
I give this story 3.5 stars.

Synopsis: Dakota Territory, 1866. Following the murders of a frontier fort’s politically connected sutler and his wife in their illicit off-post brothel, Lieutenant Martin Molloy and his long-suffering orderly, Corporal Daniel Kohn, are ordered to track down the killers and return with “boots for the gallows” to appease powerful figures in Washington. The men journey west to the distant outpost in a beautiful valley, where the soldiers inside the fort prove to be violently opposed to their investigations.

Meanwhile, Irish immigrant brothers Michael and Thomas O’Driscoll have returned from the brutal front lines of the Civil War. Unable to adapt to life as migrant farm laborers in peacetime Ohio, they reenlist in the army and are shipped to Fort Phil Kearny in the heart of the Powder River Valley. Here they are thrown into merciless combat with Red Cloud’s coalition of Native tribes fighting American expansion into their hunting grounds. Amidst the daily carnage, Thomas finds a love that will lead to a moment of violence as brutal as any they have witnessed in battle—a moment that will change their lives forever.

Blending intimate historical detail and emotional acuity, Wolves of Eden sets these four men on a deadly collision course in a haunting narrative that explores the cruelty of warfare and the resilience of the human spirit.

The word that comes to mind as I look back on this raw historical fiction is authentic. It feels so authentic. Michael’s report looks and sounds exactly like I would expect from a young Irishman who had fought in the Civil War.

I grew up going to many Civil War battlefields. It was a family vacation thing once we kids got old enough to enjoy it. I love Gettysburg more than almost anywhere else I’ve been because it feels so authentic and preserved. That’s what this story feels like.

It’s so authentic, however, that I found it a little difficult to read. I’m a lover of this time period as well as historical fiction, but I really struggled to get through this book. I think that someone more keen on historical fiction, or at least more used to the pacing of it, would love this book.

I gave it 3.5 stars because it wasn’t exactly what I hoped.

A worthy read about four men whose stories converge after a dual thread lead in. I initially found Michael and Thomas hard to understand but eventually fell into the rhythm of their words and appreciated that McCarthy chose to write them as they would have spoken. The Dakota Territory was a brutal place and that comes through loud and clear. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Sometimes tough to read but well researched, this is for fans of westerns and historical fiction.

Wolves of Eden is a very unique book. It starts off with a jailed, ex-Civil War soldier recounting the events that brought him to jail. We also view events from the viewpoint of an Irish immigrant sent with the military to settle the west. I had a difficult time with this book. It is very well written and much is in the language and slang of the time. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I was expecting more of a western and this book seems to be an accurate account of life and times in a very violent period of history. I can and will definitely recommend this book to history buffs and anyone who likes a good, bloody adventure story.

As a sucker for good Historical Fiction let me say I loved this book. Kevin McCarthy has done a creditable job with contextual narrative even down to what must be, imagined idiosyncratic dialogue.
He has particularly made a fist of the parallel storylines with little hint of the convergence until well into the novel.
Yes, there's minimal character background but the main protagonists hold strongly on their own. It's a little bloody for sure, but that's to be expected when a writer sets out to accurately portray events in a time that held life cheaply.
My thanks to NetGalley and W.W.Norton & Co. along with Kevin McCarthy for the opportunity to review this work.