THE WIDOW’S WAR, Mary Mackey, Berkley Trade Paperback,9/1/09,$15.00US/$18.50CAN, pb, 368pp.

Carolyn Vinton and Dr. William Saylor, both abolitionists were to get married, when he suddenly disappears. As the family assumes he is dead, Carrie is left grieving, pregnant and alone. When Deacon Presgrove, William’s stepbrother offers to give the baby a name, Carrie accepts his offer to wed.

It is 1853 in the years heating up to the Civil War. The Kansas Territory is a battle ground between pro-slavery and the abolitionist factions. Carrie soon learns that her father in law, the famous senator is pro slavery. Feeling betrayed by Deacon, then learning that William is not dead, but alive, Carrie decides to break free to find William.

This is a novel to read again and again. Mackey creates fairy tale magic when she brings together the star-crossed pair of Carolyn Vinton and Dr. William Saylor. This is one of those, “non-stop, can’t put down” books. Carrie’s character is dynamic and strong, a woman of presence and grace. The sparks fly between Carrie and William with a magnetic field of attraction surrounding them. There are few lovers in literature with this connectivity and Mackey’s pair are sensational.

The story is peppered with intricate deception and edgy climactic tension that builds with increasing curiosity till the conclusion. Mackey has created a well researched romantic historical fiction. John Brown, Kansas Nebraska Act, Bloody Kansas and other events are credible, real and memorable. This would be an excellent companion novel when studying the American Civil War in high school or beyond. No doubt The Widow’s War will be one of the “Best of 2009”.


© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2011].

I enjoyed this.. I really like Mark MacKey's writing style. I do think The Notorious Mrs. Winston is a bit better than this one tho. Whereas Mrs. Winston takes place during the Civil War, Widow's War occurs in just before the war in a much divided Kansas. The book starts in Brazil where the heroine, Carrie thinks her lover has died of disease and being left with child and unmarried, she accepts the most appealing option available to her and marries Deacon, her lover's stepbrother and travels back to the States. What Carries doesn't realize is the States is on the verge of a civil war, the main topic being slavery and she has unknowingly married into a pro-slavery family. Carrie and her former lover, William, are both abolitionists. However, that is the not the only surprise awaiting her stateside arrival. Carries soon discovers that she has been duped. William is very much alive out there somewhere, her new husband is a liar and con artist, and she is now broke to boot. Not a woman to be easily deterred, a pregnant Carrie holds a gun to her husband's head, threatens him, and runs off to Kansas to find William.

She not only finds William, but gets involved in an underground railroad movement. As tensions mount as to whether or not Kansas is going to be a slave or free state and abolotionists face constant attacks from slave holders, Deacon is hunting her down and intends to take his child away from her. Can she outrun him, protect her child, and keep her lover in the process?

The battle of good and evil is fought between two men. John Brown, an abolotionist and Henry Clark, a loose model of William Quantrill. Both of these men are portrayed as somewhat psychotic. Their characterizations were a bit extreme, causing the loss of half a star in my opinion. The other half of the star is missing due to the story being a bit rushed at times. Too much story is summed up too quickly in at least two locations. When Carrie loses a baby on the ship to America, the situation is quickly told to reader via letters she is writing to her dead mother. Later, at her Kansas home, traumatizing raids are briefly mentioned, but Carrie's own experiences with them are summed up in two sentences saying she has bad dreams and cannot remember what they are.

Good book. Great historical detail about Kansas and pre civil war tensions. I didn't realize till now how big of a role Kansas played in it. Recommended. ( )

The book is set in the 1850s, when Kansas was voting to become either a slave or a free state. That's a part of US history I didn't know anything about. The main character starts off living in Brazil, which I felt only distracted from the interesting part of the plot. All in all, I liked it but don't think I'll read it again. 3 stars. ( )