On Secret Service

By: John Jakes

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

John Jakes, the author of over 60 books, including the eight-part Kent Family Chronicles, The North and South trilogy, and innumerable short stories of the American West, returns to the Civil War in the engrossing On Secret Service. The story of a war within a war on various levels—the North v. the South, the Union's Pinkerton Detective Agency v. the Confederacy's agent provocateurs, youthful idealism v. youthful lust—On Secret Service chronicles the lives and times of four young Americans, from the war's early tremors in January 1861, through its bloody conclusion, Lincoln's assassination, and John Wilkes Booth's murder in May 1865.

"Jakes combines encyclopedic command of historical fact with unmatched storytelling. Carefully researched and filled with colorful characters who move in an authentic Washington atmosphere."—Booklist©2000 John Jakes; (P)2000 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“On Secret Service draws you back into the Civil War and the wrenching days preceding Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The factual details are simply astonishing: You walk the muddy streets, smell the acrid smoke of battlefields, and experience firsthand the inner workings of a vast conspiracy.” –Patricia Cornwell

“The author saves the best for last in dealing with Lincoln’s assassination, bringing the drama to life by giving each of his protagonists a crucial role as the conspiracy unfolds with expert pacing and suspense. Jakes uncovers the little-known history of espionage and counterespionage during the War Between the States with his signature combination of meticulous research and epic narrative.” –Publishers Weekly

“Gripping, exciting, and historically accurate…a very good book.” –Library Journal

“An absorbing study of how human affairs stubbornly fall outside the simplistic categories of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’…” –Kirkus Reviews

“John Jakes has written another fine historical novel about his favorite period—The Civil War…Jakes is a wonderful storyteller, mixing fiction with fact and capturing the feel and flavor of that turbulent time.” –The Sunday Oklahoman

“Perhaps no author has made popularized American history more his own province than John Jakes…[He] does the invaluable service of any historical writer in transforming history’s dusty pages into a living account. An excellent job of conveying the horror of that war now dimmed by the passage of the years.” –Jacksonville Times-Union

“[Jakes] gets the big story right, while writing in a clear style, keeping the narrative moving briskly from cliff-hanger to cliff-hanger, serving up portions of steamy sex in between, and offering us plenty of heroes and heroines to admire and several villains to hate. Even a deep-dyed Civil War buff…will find himself turning the pages to see what happens next.” –Civil War Book Review

Very good read

What did you love best about On Secret Service?

I enjoyed all the twists to the story but still keeping real life history intertwined.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not sure which agent I enjoyed best. My least is Pinkerton though.

Have you listened to any of Michael Kramer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoy the readers voice, nice and smooth, enjoyable to listen to for long periods.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Possibly

enjoyed it

I enjoyed this book but did not find it as engaging as other Jakes' books. I thought the romance angles a bit trite. I've read a lot of Civil War non-fiction in which it is always mentioned that McClellan relied on Pinkerton's erroneous intelligence on enemy troop size. Interesting to find this angle brought up by the Pinkerton character.

Great Deal!!

This is a great price for a very good historically based novel. Mr. Kramer does an outstanding job with the diverse accents that he must portray. This is first and formost a novel. However, when factual characters are portrayed the author has done his homework. As far as the novel on it's merits alone I would have given it a 4, but the price pushes it up to a 5+. I felt the author could have given us better background and character developement on the primary players in the story.

Another fine piece of historical fiction

What made the experience of listening to On Secret Service the most enjoyable?

The narration. Mr. Kramer, I believe the name is, is great with accents, Southern ones especially.

What was one of the most memorable moments of On Secret Service?

Lon being caught in the draft riots.

Which character – as performed by Michael Kramer – was your favorite?

Everyone, Lon in particular.

If you could take any character from On Secret Service out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Margaret, to get her views on various issues.

Any additional comments?

A must-have for civil war fans, and fans of historical fiction.

Good

I am a huge fan of historical fiction books in general, so I had high hopes for this book. It was ok, but I did not care for the harder edge of this book. If this were a movie it would be PG-13 or R. Some of the stuff was really un called for and added little to nothing to the plot depth. I liked learning about all the back story behind the history and if I had this purchase to make over again, I would probably still get it, but just be quicker on the FF button.