This novel was born from a great idea (Gather.com First Chapters) It takes place in Charleston and is a mix of history and mystery. It is pre civil war and the unrest in Charleston at the time. It delves into the underground railroad, numerous fires being set in the city, a trial, and the rumblings of unrest. John is sent to Charleston from his newspaper in NYC. The first reporter died under suspicious consequences. He is sent to write about a trial for a man who is accused of hiding a runaway slave. He uncovers so much more. You also get a taste of Plantation life during that time. For all who love the city of Charleston or civil war history this is a great read. ( )

I began reading “Fire Bell in the Night” as soon as it came out, since I’d watched the “Gather First Chapters Competition” from start to finish. I found the book a slow read, but it rewarded perseverance amply once I could devote my uninterrupted attention.

I wasn’t sure where the story was going at the start. Geoffrey Edwards’ swift introduction of characters that he immediately lost or killed left me oddly unsettled, but I suspect that was the emotion he was looking for. The third chapter led me into a strangely exotic place, Charleston in 1850, and brought it fully to life. Every page I turned, I learned something new. I tagged behind a New York reporter in the South, stranger in a strange land, and in the final chapters found the whole story and its people brought together, coming full circle.

I loved the way the book is framed, from chapter 3 to the end, by the railway station. I can see and hear and smell it in my mind; that one church spire of many; the militia; the porters; the trains, and the whole idea of railways. Geoffrey Edwards brings me in on a train, and takes me out again, and I know I will always remember a fascinating visit. ( )

My first historical fiction-mystery and I was pleasantly surprised. Most of the book kept me turning the pages in suspense but the ending was a disappointment, in my opinion. Very well written and researched. The reader certainly feels as if he or she is in Charleston in 1850, but the denouement just did not live up to the expectations and imaginations of the reader. ( )

The setting is interesting - Charleston, South Carolina, in the summer of 1850, as the tensions that lead to the Civil War become more and more apparent. A young reporter is dispatched from New York to cover the trial of a farmer accused of harboring a fugitive slave. The reporter is as much a foreigner in this society as if he were visiting another country. The plot is suspenseful, but becomes somewhat confusing when the reporter is taken up by a wealthy plantation owner. The conventional figure of the Southern belle also appears. It is however, an exciting and interesting story and, as a former resident of the city, accurate in its depiction of place. ( )