Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "saint-domingue"

The Sugar Inferno by Lyle Garford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


With little information divulged in his orders, Commander Evan Ross arrives at the Admiralty in London for a meeting in February 1798. He finds himself amid august men – the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and former Prime Minister, and the Foreign Secretary – as well as his immediate superior and spymaster, Captain Sir James Standish, and General Thomas Maitland of the Royal Army. Something must be done regarding the volatile situation in Saint Domingue and Evan provides vital firsthand knowledge of what he and his men have learned in dealing with the many factions on the island.

The British first intervened in the chaos there five years before, but they have yet to achieve any of their three goals: stop the flow of money to France, prevent Spanish intervention, and gain a trading partner that will fill their own coffers. The British have invested too much to simply walk away, but the war with France impedes their ability to provide additional funding and troops. In short order Evan explains that yellow fever, the sheer numbers pitted against them, and devious and intelligent leaders, who ally when necessary and betray each other when not, make it extremely difficult to forge the necessary alliances. Further complicating the situation are those who wish the status quo of slavery to continue and those who do not. Then there’s the question of who governs Saint Domingue – those who live there or men sent from France’s Directory? The two principal leaders are Toussaint L’Ouverture, a mulatto who wants to end slavery yet allows it to continue, and Andre Rigaud, a mulatto who cares little for whites or blacks and believes mulattos should govern not only the island but also the world. Adding to this volatile mix are the Spaniards who live on the other side of the island (Santo Domingo) and would like to control the whole island. France has no intention of abdicating control; sooner or later a new administrator will arrive and he may not come alone. Then there are the Americans who also want a piece of this lucrative pie.

News also arrives that the black armies have attacked two key British forts; the loss of one could allow these armies to reach Port-au-Prince. With all this knowledge, the men in power decide that the original objectives will stand, but General Maitland has final say in how he achieves them once he arrives at Saint Domingue and assesses the situation. Evan will assist him in that regard, especially with the assistance of his best friend, Lieutenant James Wilton, who currently spies on the Spanish side of the island, and Midshipman Baptiste, who has infiltrated Toussaint L’Ouverture’s inner circle to become a trusted advisor.

Of course, the best laid plans of the British do not coincide with those of the French. Theodore Hedouville has been sent by the Directory to take control of the island with the help of 300 soldiers, with additional troops being supplied by the governor of the Spanish side of the island. Accompanying him are two spies, Hubert Montdenoix and Flemming Linger, who return to the Caribbean to once again stir up trouble, in hopes that the French will control not only Saint Domingue, but also Jamaica. Montdenoix also searches for his British counterpart, a one-armed man whom he intends to put out of business.

Once again, Garford deftly weaves a gripping tale of a complex situation in a way that makes it easy for readers to understand the many diverse historical threads. The Sugar Inferno is the fifth book in the Evan Ross series, and while it includes details about the workings of the Royal Navy, its primary focus is on the important tasks that naval spies did and how they did it. Populated by many rich characters, some real and others fictional, each is diverse and multifaceted with human foibles and frailties. This fan looks forward with eager anticipation to the next and final adventure in the series, The Admiral’s Pursuit.




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