The Second Favorite Son

By Daniel Myers and Kashana Cauley

When Straughan Packard III dies suddenly, control of the family empire should have been passed to his firstborn son, the princely ‘Junior’, Straughan Packard IV. But given Junior’s mysterious... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 187727044X
• ISBN13: 9781877270444
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Hazard Press
• Length: 429 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

THE SECOND FAVORITE SON

The intertwined threads of murder mystery, love story, family history and alternate American history, made Daniel Myers' debut novel an excellent read. The story based on well researched southern history and culture provided a believable setting, many descriptive details and some unexpected twists. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it. I look forward to future works by Daniel Myers.

A Fine Debut

The South has risen again, albeit with a leg-up from Mr. Myers, whose cleverly contrived twist on history results in an entirely credible alternative development of North American society. But it is for the complex weaving of a geneological history spanning more than 200 years that The Second Favorite Son is most notable. It seems that down in the land of cotton some old times are most definitely not forgotten. Starting with a handful of pre-revolutionary characters Myers tosses in a liberal amount of black powder and cold steel, intrigue and ( extra dry ) wit, then agitates the gene pool and turns out a contemporary murder-mystery which, in keeping with all good tales, keeps us wondering who's playing straight, who has been duped and who's just plain nasty. This is an engrossing book and the attention to real historical detail makes the altenative take seem even more natural. I think it deserves five stars for scope and ambition alone. Don't wait for the mini-series.

Outstanding First Publication!

Daniel Myers has written a first-class, insightful novel which not only entertains, stimulates and fascinates, but also highlights long-standing and emotional racial issues dear to our country's history. Myers' exceptional attention to detail and appreciation of heritage, as well as an innate ability to draw in the reader through romance, family drama and intrigue, creates the classic page-turner that I devoured twice--a fact I can't say about many books! Congratulations to Daniel on a splendid first publication! I am eagerly awaiting his next book!

Total page turner!

An excellent read you won't be able to put down! The storyline follows generations of well created characters in a wealthy and powerful family, set in a powerful Southern world that ceded from the Union...Part murder mystery, part love story, and all very highly detailed. This is worth a look, and highly recommended. You'll find yourself rooting for the hero before you know it. Looking forward to more by this author.

One hell of a good book

I've never been a fan of historical drama, or the whole family epic, but The Second Favorite Son is a whole lot more than that. First of all, the description and atmosphere of the south is enough to take you there. It hasn't been overdone, just short and to the point paragraphs filled with detail every few pages or so, so you know exactly what the main characters are seeing and feeling to the point where you can almost feel the southern humidity. The characters are quirky and eccentric, and their interactions are often hilarious even though the humor is kept very subtle. The novel flicks between the past and the present, with every second chapter in the past slowly closing the gap to the present until the two meet. Set as if the South won the war between the states, the differences, like the humor, is very subtle, the world hasn't changed in any dramatic way, so the reality of it is very believable - in fact so believable, that it becomes easy to believe anything else the author says. This is without a doubt one excellent book, and I'm hoping there will be more to follow by Mr. Myers.