Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "admiral-saumarez"

Treachery by Julian Stockwin by Julian Stockwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Neither Kydd nor Renzi are in good places when this latest Kydd Sea Adventure begins. Renzi suffers from guilt for abandoning his friend when he needed him most. Kydd wallows in grief at the sudden loss of his beloved. Renzi makes a new vow to help Kydd, but it takes an encounter with footpads and the press gang to draw Kydd sufficiently out of his anguish to at least do his duty as captain of Teazer.

This Thomas Kydd is not the one that his men admire and willingly follow. This is a harsh, unyielding commander who demands immediate obedience. As a result, unease and possible mutiny ripple through the crew, though Kydd is too blinded to see or listen to Renzi’s warnings. It takes another to turn the tide before it’s too late.

Teazer and her crew have been relegated to the isolated station of the Channel Islands, where Admiral Saumarez is in charge. For Renzi, this provides him with new opportunities to continue his research. For Kydd, he is given a chance to show his mettle; Saumerez judges by deeds and courage instead of hearsay and innuendo. Kydd accepts the chance to prove himself worth; in doing so, he draws the ire of those who have been on station longer than he has. Then Kydd receives secret orders, which he successfully carries out. Upon returning to home port, his ship is boarded and he is accused of smuggling, which is against Admiralty rules. And the admiral denies ever giving him secret orders.

Treachery is the tale of what happens when an officer loses his command and must seek employment on land. It is also about backstabbing and vowing to clear one’s name, as well as following paths that go against one’s beliefs. Privateering and espionage play key roles in these struggles. The machinations behind a plot to kidnap Napoleon Bonaparte show the tenuous scheming between the English government, French émigrés, and French royalists. The action is riveting and the emotions are profound. Internal struggles play out alongside external ones. This ninth title in the series is one that fans will enjoy not only for these reasons but also because it delves further into multi-dimensions of character.


This review was originally published at Pirates and Privateers (http://www.cindyvallar.com/Stockwin.h...)




View all my reviews