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Pinkerton Lady Chronicles #1
Days of Deception
Being a spy for the famous Pinkerton Detectives suits Laurel Bartlett's adventurous nature. During the Civil War, Laurel had used her charm and cleverness to penetrate Confederate lines and bring back military intelligence for the Union army as a way to avenge her brother's death. But the war casts a long shadow onto Laurel's future happiness. Now the conflict has ended, and Laurel's soldier fiance has not returned home. As an excuse to search for him, Laurel takes a new Pinkerton assignment to seek evidence of thievery on the railroads.
On a train heading south through the lawless lands, sparks fly when she meets Ridge Granger, a handsome former rebel cavalryman, and Laurel's secret past comes back to haunt her. When Laurel stumbles upon a murder scene, both their lives are threatened by an unknown killer.
As time runs out to find her fiance, gather evidence against a thieving railroad employee, and stay alive, Laurel's war-time spying has a direct impact on Ridge. With mounting tensions between them, the couple is thrust into a life-and-death situation where their faith in God - and themselves - is sorely tested.
On a train heading south through the lawless lands, sparks fly when she meets Ridge Granger, a handsome former rebel cavalryman, and Laurel's secret past comes back to haunt her. When Laurel stumbles upon a murder scene, both their lives are threatened by an unknown killer.
As time runs out to find her fiance, gather evidence against a thieving railroad employee, and stay alive, Laurel's war-time spying has a direct impact on Ridge. With mounting tensions between them, the couple is thrust into a life-and-death situation where their faith in God - and themselves - is sorely tested.
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
32 people want to read
About the author
Lee Roddy
102 books18 followersLee Roddy's journalism career began as a radio drama script writer. He has been a newspaper and radio broadcast executive with experience in advertising agencies and public relations. His award-winning newspaper was sold in 1973, and he is presently a full-time Christian writer. On the West Coast he writes and edits for prominent Christian leaders. He has taught many writing courses including sessions at Mount Herman Christian Writers Conference and Biola College. He is the author of numerous books and his published items number in the thousands both for secular and Christian publications. As a lifelong history buff he has written hundreds of newspaper columns on the subject. For several years he wrote and narrated the radio series "Your American Heritage." Mr. Roddy is a graduate of Los Angeles State College and lives in California with his wife near Disneyland. He has two grown children.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 6, 2020
I wanted to like this so much, because two of my sisters absolutely loved it, but too many aspects of this book just fell flat for me. Just shows how reading tastes differ ...
Setting: The exact date is not stated, but it is almost immediately after the Civil War ends. One of the characters is from Virginia (and is there in the prologue, but leaves soon after), and the beginning of the story is set in Chicago (where the other character hails). Most of the book, however, is set on a train that travels from Chicago to New Orleans. It is not clear at any given time where the train is; only the names of the stations are mentioned. Though the greater location doesn't garner much focus, the more specific setting does: the train. There are plenty of descriptions of the train cars, where everything is, and the possibilities (and impossibilities) regarding stealing the valuables. The post-Civil War (thankfully, the characters never called it that) year also heavily influences both characters' actions, perspectives, and experiences. The hostility in the North toward the Southerners is shown very well.
Characters: As the perfect southern gentleman who is now often moody because of his war experience, Ridge is quite an endearing hero. He's exceptionally quiet, but that fierce fighting spirit explodes at the best times. I really wish his character arc was shown more, because his spiritual growth was only mentioned after the fact, and I never clearly discovered why he was so attracted to Laurel--especially after he found our her darkest, dirty secret.
Laurel is quite annoying, and I hate to say that I didn't grow to like her throughout the book. She is rude, annoying, pushy, selfish, and her motivations weren't clear to me (my sister later explained her reason for pursuing Claude, and it does make sense). Her "ignorance" on why she has seemingly unexplainable feelings for Ridge got on my nerves; like, you've never had a crush before? Since obviously it is only that, at the beginning. Also, jealousy at a mention of someone else's *possible* (and usually not in reality) beau (or female version) grates on my nerves, especially when the jealous person doesn't realize they're jealous because they like the other person. And yet it's this mysterious fact of life that people have these irrational jealousies, and we can never figure out why. Laurel's character arc is a little choppy, too, I thought. Her spiritual journey seems to follow badly.
The other characters are done pretty well. Claude, especially, has a good role, and Aiken and Lucas are also good additions. I was a little disappointed that the bad guys are revealed so early (instead of the reader finding out with Laurel), but there is an element of the mystery that isn't understood until later.
Plot: The plot is good, unique, and done well. Like I said, the mystery is revealed to the reader a little too early in my opinion, but there remains a level of suspense. I feel like some parts were tied up a little too neatly--all because of Laurel's smart, forward thinking--but I get you can't have everything turn out the worst possible way (actually, I think it would be improved if these smart actions are done when the reader has Laurel's POV). The beginning of the story drags somewhat during a scene/conundrum that isn't solved immediately, but is solved eventually with the first solution. In addition, I think the plot faltered a bit due to the writing, especially when it followed Laurel's thinking. I can't really put my finger on it, but for some reason I couldn't be engrossed in the story and the information. I never really got into Laurel's head--I only heard her dialogue, which was kind of stilted and didn't really give a good sense of her thought process.
Romance: I think this is where the rating faltered, because reading romance is what I like. I felt that the author just assumed that "of course they're attracted to each other, because they're the hero and heroine", without giving any real reason for it. Too much was forced down my throat, and I didn't appreciate it. All that hate and animosity between Laurel and Ridge, and a life-threatening situation fixes it all. Actually, that's not even accurate. Everything is fine before that, but they haven't talked yet.
Faith content: It is present, and the conclusions are good, if their pathways aren't so smooth. In the beginning, Laurel's Christian family is portrayed as bad, but a little thought on the reader's part will tell the reader that the unpleasantness is from Laurel's perspective (but she never does realize that they are not unpleasant). I thought Laurel's final perspective on her Pinkerton work during the War was interesting, and merits discussion. But Laurel couldn't really have that discussion in the book, because her actions couldn't be defended.
If I add anything else, it's that all of my opinions are totally subjective, because this is one of my sister's favorite books of all time. If you're not bothered by any of my aforementioned pet peeves, and you enjoy 1800s mystery aboard trains, I would recommend it.
Setting: The exact date is not stated, but it is almost immediately after the Civil War ends. One of the characters is from Virginia (and is there in the prologue, but leaves soon after), and the beginning of the story is set in Chicago (where the other character hails). Most of the book, however, is set on a train that travels from Chicago to New Orleans. It is not clear at any given time where the train is; only the names of the stations are mentioned. Though the greater location doesn't garner much focus, the more specific setting does: the train. There are plenty of descriptions of the train cars, where everything is, and the possibilities (and impossibilities) regarding stealing the valuables. The post-Civil War (thankfully, the characters never called it that) year also heavily influences both characters' actions, perspectives, and experiences. The hostility in the North toward the Southerners is shown very well.
Characters: As the perfect southern gentleman who is now often moody because of his war experience, Ridge is quite an endearing hero. He's exceptionally quiet, but that fierce fighting spirit explodes at the best times. I really wish his character arc was shown more, because his spiritual growth was only mentioned after the fact, and I never clearly discovered why he was so attracted to Laurel--especially after he found our her darkest, dirty secret.
Laurel is quite annoying, and I hate to say that I didn't grow to like her throughout the book. She is rude, annoying, pushy, selfish, and her motivations weren't clear to me (my sister later explained her reason for pursuing Claude, and it does make sense). Her "ignorance" on why she has seemingly unexplainable feelings for Ridge got on my nerves; like, you've never had a crush before? Since obviously it is only that, at the beginning. Also, jealousy at a mention of someone else's *possible* (and usually not in reality) beau (or female version) grates on my nerves, especially when the jealous person doesn't realize they're jealous because they like the other person. And yet it's this mysterious fact of life that people have these irrational jealousies, and we can never figure out why. Laurel's character arc is a little choppy, too, I thought. Her spiritual journey seems to follow badly.
The other characters are done pretty well. Claude, especially, has a good role, and Aiken and Lucas are also good additions. I was a little disappointed that the bad guys are revealed so early (instead of the reader finding out with Laurel), but there is an element of the mystery that isn't understood until later.
Plot: The plot is good, unique, and done well. Like I said, the mystery is revealed to the reader a little too early in my opinion, but there remains a level of suspense. I feel like some parts were tied up a little too neatly--all because of Laurel's smart, forward thinking--but I get you can't have everything turn out the worst possible way (actually, I think it would be improved if these smart actions are done when the reader has Laurel's POV). The beginning of the story drags somewhat during a scene/conundrum that isn't solved immediately, but is solved eventually with the first solution. In addition, I think the plot faltered a bit due to the writing, especially when it followed Laurel's thinking. I can't really put my finger on it, but for some reason I couldn't be engrossed in the story and the information. I never really got into Laurel's head--I only heard her dialogue, which was kind of stilted and didn't really give a good sense of her thought process.
Romance: I think this is where the rating faltered, because reading romance is what I like. I felt that the author just assumed that "of course they're attracted to each other, because they're the hero and heroine", without giving any real reason for it. Too much was forced down my throat, and I didn't appreciate it. All that hate and animosity between Laurel and Ridge, and a life-threatening situation fixes it all. Actually, that's not even accurate. Everything is fine before that, but they haven't talked yet.
Faith content: It is present, and the conclusions are good, if their pathways aren't so smooth. In the beginning, Laurel's Christian family is portrayed as bad, but a little thought on the reader's part will tell the reader that the unpleasantness is from Laurel's perspective (but she never does realize that they are not unpleasant). I thought Laurel's final perspective on her Pinkerton work during the War was interesting, and merits discussion. But Laurel couldn't really have that discussion in the book, because her actions couldn't be defended.
If I add anything else, it's that all of my opinions are totally subjective, because this is one of my sister's favorite books of all time. If you're not bothered by any of my aforementioned pet peeves, and you enjoy 1800s mystery aboard trains, I would recommend it.
October 18, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. Took a couple chapters to get into but towards the end it was increased pace and lots of action. Looking forward to the next one.
June 28, 2009
This book is the first of 3 really simple but fun mystery stories dealing with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. They are really easy reads, with simple plots. They take place right after the Civil War and have to deal with the Transcontinental Railroad being built. The Pinkerton Detective Agency was formed in the 1850's and became one of the most famous detective agencies in the US. The main character is a young women who gets hired to work for the agency. The books have some history, some mystery and a little romance. I always figured out the crime before it was disclosed and just had fun reading them. Really simple easy to read books.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews