Chenneville by Paulette Jiles

 

 Chenneville, A Novel of Murder, Loss, and Vengeance  by Paulette Jiles. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2023. Adult fiction. Western.

John Chenneville has fought valiantly in the American Civil War and been injured. When he wakes up after months in a field hospital, the war is over, the President is dead, and he must make his way home to Missouri. He finds that his beloved sister, her husband, and their baby have been killed. He determines to find their killer.

Thus, the novel is a journey, a quest, for Chenneville. It takes him through big cities and uninhabited regions into Texas. Jiles is a master at writing the thoughts of characters and the places they go. The book does not plog, but makes readers feel as if they are right there along side Chenneville. Of course, Texas was Confederate and the Union greatcoat Chenneville wears marks him as Union in a place where resentments run high. He meets a telegraph operator who tells him of a woman telegraph operator whose messages help in his search. Will he find the killer? Keep reading!