Honor Among Outcasts

DarkHorse Trilogy #2

by Ed Protzel

As the Civil War rages, a man and his regiment of former slaves risk their lives for freedom in the second novel from the author of  The Lies That Bind .
 
2017 Missouri Writers Guild Historical Fiction Award Winner
 
After fleeing Mississippi and the destruction of DarkHorse plantation, Durksen Hurst, his fiancée, Antoinette, and a band of freed slaves have reached the North, where they are plunged into a gale-force storm of violence and retribution. On the Missouri-Kansas border, neighbor has turned against neighbor as bushwhackers wreak havoc across the land. Desperately wanting to fight to free their people, Durk’s Black comrades urge him to try to form a cavalry regiment. Never one to back down from a challenge—and always one to skirt the law—Durk succeeds. 
 
Following their every move is Devereau French, thirsting for revenge after what happened in Mississippi. Meeting up with Confederate guerilla leader William Quantrill, French convinces him to raid Lawrence, Kansas, where Durk and his men are training. The plan works better than After the bloody massacre, Durk and Antoinette are arrested as suspected spies. To save themselves from the hangman’s noose, Durk must pull every trick he can think of—and some he could never have imagined . . .
 
“A pulse-pounding journey of desperate men and women caught up in the merciless forces of hatred and fear that tear worlds apart, and the healing power of friendship to bring them together . ” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
“A simply riveting read  . . .  will leave enthralled readers looking eagerly toward the concluding volume  Something in Madness .”   — Midwest Book Review
 

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2018

About the author

Ed Protzel is the author of four novels, all published by Open Road Media: the Southern historical DARKHORSE TRILOGY, centering on the friendship between an abolitionist hustler and a group of escaped slaves between 1859 and 1865 (THE LIES THAT BIND, HONOR AMONG OUTCASTS, SOMETHING IN MADNESS); and THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER suspense thriller. Ed is a graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in English literature/creative writing.

Reviews

[Jeanie Loiacono · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about what happened in Missouri during the Civil War reading Honor Among Outcasts. We are not told nor taught much of anything about blacks’ roles in fighting for either side nor bushwhackers. My gosh, those who were just trying to survive were being hit three-fold by the North, South, and raiders who did not care what side you were on. I think Protzel did a remarkable job in fleshing out not only all those aspects but also those of the families that followed the soldiers and provided for them. Excellent writing! I will read anything he has or will write.
— CJ Loiacono

[Terry Mulligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honor Among Outcasts, is the second book in Ed Protzel’s planned trilogy. His first book, Lies That Bind, takes place during the Civil War, when an abolitionists and group of slaves escapes from Mississippi and heads North.

In Honor Among Outcasts, as the war comes to its bloody end, the freed slaves and Durksen Hurst, their liberator, are still together. However, their troubles are far from over as they, along with Hurst’s fiancee, must now outmaneuver bushwhackers, an evil couple, and dishonest government authorities. I again enjoyed Protzel’s considerable descriptive skill, as when he write: “His tailored city suit singled him out from the roughly dressed Missouri raiders in their road-worn britches and guerrilla shirts.”

Honor Among Outcasts is a page-turner, and even more fast-paced and elaborately plotted than its predecessor. On a few occasions, the story kept me up way too late, as I rooted for the good guys. At times, however, the author resorted too heavily on a Deus ex Machina device to get Hurst and his party out of trouble.

Protzel’s novel contains many elements of historical fiction, and I learned much from the book, including what happened in Quantrill’s deadly raid on Lawrence, Kansas. Also, I now know why certain parts of Missouri were known as “Little Dixie.

Additionally, Protzel writes at some length about corrupt and/or incompetent military judges. From his depiction of several court cases, I was able to imagine honest judges struggling to sort through their colleagues’ lies, and conspiracies, while trying to fairly adjudicate defendants and also get the county up and running again.