Chenneville

A Novel of Murder, Loss, and Vengeance

By: Paulette Jiles

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Consumed with grief, driven by vengeance, a man undertakes an unrelenting odyssey across the lawless post–Civil War frontier seeking redemption in this fearless novel from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of News of the World.

Union soldier John Chenneville suffered a traumatic head wound in battle. His recovery took the better part of a year as he struggled to regain his senses and mobility. By the time he returned home, the Civil War was over, but tragedy awaited. John’s beloved sister and her family had been brutally murdered.

Their killer goes by many names. He fought for the North in the late unpleasantness, and wore a badge in the name of the law. But the man John knows as A. J. Dodd is little more than a rabid animal, slaughtering without reason or remorse, needing to be put down.

Traveling through the unforgiving landscape of a shattered nation in the midst of Reconstruction, John braves winter storms and confronts desperate people in pursuit of his quarry. Untethered, single-minded in purpose, he will not be deterred. Not by the U.S. Marshal who threatens to arrest him for murder should he succeed. And not by Victoria Reavis, the telegraphist aiding him in his death-driven quest, yet hoping he’ll choose to embrace a life with her instead.

And as he trails Dodd deep into Texas, John accepts that this final reckoning between them may cost him more than all he’s already lost…

©2023 Paulette Jiles (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Engaging story

I enjoyed the narrator but I found myself wishing he could do the d various accents.

Ended too soon.

The story ended too soon, can't wait for the next book and the romance to begin.

Such a good yarn…

… with writing so vivid and expressive that it took me along into the story completely.

We learn about rough, unsettled, postwar Texas, the backdrop for an obsessive quest — and we grow to really really really hope that things turn out well for our protagonist.

A must read.

A walk through history

Once again Jiles has captured the time frame and led us through a walk in a disruptive time in our country’s history, making us feel as though we are there with the characters.

Good story bad narration

I liked the book - it was well written and her writing makes you spend your time hoping it will all come out in the end for Chenneville. The only downside was the monotone narration. He just dragged on with rarely any inflections and it did not do the story any justice

Love Chenneville, the man and the book!

A great favorite from a favorite author! Her characterizations and descriptions fascinate me!! I am recommending to book club and friends who want top notch books! I have all of Jiles’ work. First audible and a choice narrator

Jiles is a good story-teller

This is a good story told well. I enjoy Jiles’ writing. The story is not quite as good as The News of the World, but I enjoyed it immensely. Gardner’s narration is excellent, as it is for her other books. Just the sort of voice and tone for this sort of story. At first I thought maybe he is reading a bit too slowly. He does read slowly, but I found it so soothing, with a certain melancholy that fits the story (and my frequent mood), that I did not speed it up, but relished every moment.

Rugged and Winning

This well crafted story begins in the 1860s in the Midwest at the end of the Civil War, a precarious and unsettled time in American history. It is a captivating and compelling tale. I particularly enjoyed the indepth descriptions of each character, the western surrounds and vegetation, clothing, horses and their gear, telegraphic communication, and the gritty culture. But most of all, the clever story itself detailing the dogged persistence of the protagonist and the pure romance of it all.

Slow

I love Paulette Giles books, but found this one slow. The story was good, but tedious and predictable.

A journey ...

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Chenneville. It's a quiet telling of one man's journey. It has terrible moments and is sometimes dryly funny. Ultimately it's about hope in a country torn apart by civil war, with all the confusion and suffering and again ultimately optimism.