Jack Ford

Chariot on the Mountain by Jack Ford is a 2018 Kensington publication.

Historically interesting, emotionally riveting- and one whale of legal thriller!

This book is based on the true story of Catherine “Kitty” Payne, a slave and the daughter of her 'owner', Samuel Maddox. When Samuel dies, his wife, Mary, decides to set Kitty and children free, which leads to a contentious, and little- known court case where Kitty had to fight to remain free.

In Ford’s tale, the reader follows Kitty on her journey, chronicling her relationship with Mary and the bold decision to take Mary’s nephew to court when he refused to acknowledge her freedom. A slave taking a white man to court in the pre-civil war era was unprecedented to say the least.

I loved the way the author brought Kitty and Mary to life. The progress of their relationship is one of the most rewarding parts of the story. Naturally, Mary had every reason to feel resentful of Kitty and it would have been within her rights to sell Kitty and her children after her husband’s death.

When Mary decided to honor her husband’s last wishes, she goes above and beyond by escorting Kitty and her children to Pennsylvania where they can obtain their freedom. The journey is a dangerous one, but it is also one that solidifies the special bond the women developed which was like a mother-daughter relationship and a close friendship.

When Mary’s nephew interferes, claiming he had a right to take charge of Samuel’s estate, which included his slaves, he hires a group of ‘slave catchers’ to kidnap Kitty and her children and return them to Virginia. But Kitty insists she is free and decides to take her case to court.

From there, Zephania Turner, takes charge of Kitty’s case, and thus begins an arduous, complicated trial that had so many twists I was on the edge of my seat!

I had never heard of this case before now. What an incredible and fascinating story! I’m so glad the author stumbled across it, and shared it through this work of fiction. I so admired these women and their courage and faith.

Everything about this story seems to go against the grain. Mary's decision to help the daughter her husband fathered with another woman, Zephania taking this case despite the opposition of family and friends, and the court case itself is nothing short of a miracle considering the time and place in history.

While some abhorrent attitudes still held firm, and some of the characters are despicable, the good people who stood their ground, who faced their enemies and stuck by one another, no matter the consequences, is the part of the story that gives me a slight hope that humanity isn’t as dark and it often appears to be.

This is where we need to keep our focus- on the positive. Right now, times are scary and dark, and it’s brought out the worst in some people, but it’s also brought out the best. Mary and Kitty are an inspiration and a reminder to stay strong, be good to each other, to never give up hope!… (más)

This was a book club choice...I waffled between 3 and 4 * so 3.5*. I enjoy historical fiction and I found this story compelling. The author drew a clear picture of the setting in antebellum Virginia and the plot propelled the reader forward with a sense of suspense and urgency. The female characters were believable and most had enough depth to support the history. Fanny and Kate could have been fleshed out a bit more, but to what purpose. The male antagonist was perhaps a bit overdone, making him more a caricature than a realistic character with a hate-filled heart. The facts of the story alone are surprising and previously unknown to me. The trial segments were fascinating as well due to the differences in our courts now compared to the 19th century...much the same but several very different practices that impacted the results. My favorite part of any historical fiction is the afterword and it did not disappoint, although some of the factual events that took place after the story's end were disappointing.… (más)

This is Jack Ford's first novel and it is good. He weaves a famous case from history (The Lindbergh Kidnapping) into a crime happening today. The mystery also involve a crime of national importance and stolen journal that the owner desperately wants back, since it ties him to both crimes. The thief is being tracked down by thugs, a prosecutor and a reporter following a story are also trying to find this journal since they believe it will answer several key questions about a modern day smuggling operation. The thugs will kill to get the journal back, and someone is leaking information to them.

I liked this book because although you didn't get slammed into the action in the first few pages, the author didn't take forever to get to the heart of the story. The going back and forth in time and from setting to setting was done skillfully, you never had a 'Huh? Who's talking here?' moment. He also gave the prosecutor Stark a background that made the things he did believable, in that he did things that you wouldn't think a lawyer capable of, but a former Army Special Forces would be. The ending was a minor disappointment to me, things seem to tie together a little too neatly, but it wasn't a totally unbelieveable ending, it followed the story line. I would recommend this book to people who like thrillers and suspense. There was a lot of violence in the book, but it didn't have graphic descriptions of the murdered bodies… (más)