Cindy Vallar's Blog, page 18

I'll Tell a Story While You Guess the Song

Discovering Diamonds is spotlighting my short story, Rumble the Dragon, during this holiday season. I'm one of 24 authors taking part in this blog tour. Can you guess the song that might have inspired my story, which appears in A Tall Ship, A Star, and Plunder?

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Review of Robin Lloyd's Harbor of Spies

Harbor of Spies: A Novel of Historic Havana by Robin Lloyd

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


At the end of January 1863, the Laura Ann arrives at Havana, but is unable to enter the bay because night has fallen. Nor can she return to open waters because a Confederate gunboat is out there hunting merchant ships flying the Stars and Stripes of the United States. Acting captain Everett Townsend is debating what to do when he hears shouts coming from the shark-infested water. He rescues an injured man named Michael Abbot, who has just escaped from El Morro Castle.

Cuba is an enticing mystery to Everett because it is the homeland of his mother, but once she left the island, she refused to speak of it or her family. Helping the injured fugitive comes naturally to him since his family aids runaway slaves passing through Maryland. But Cuba is a far cry from the United States, and being a Good Samaritan sets in motion a series of falling dominos with dire consequences for Everett.

Abbot has been investigating the murder of an English diplomat that was swept under the rug, but there are those with power and influence who don’t want the matter reopened. They become aware of Everett’s assistance and, soon, he finds himself imprisoned and unable to contact anyone. The Spanish officials believe him to be a spy, an executable offense. Don Pedro Alvarado Cardona offers him a lifeline. The cost, however, is almost as disgraceful and distasteful as when Everett was booted out of the US Naval Academy. If he wishes to live, he must become a Confederate blockade runner. Havana is nominally a neutral seaport; in reality, it is a depot where Confederate ships can load British armament to smuggle into the South or unload cotton and other goods that would otherwise rot in blockaded Southern ports.

Everett reluctantly accepts Don Pedro’s offer, but vows to escape at the first opportunity. That chance doesn’t come. Instead, he is offered a chance to visit the plantations where he comes face-to-face with the realities of slavery and people who knew his mother. A foreign diplomat offers Everett a way to change the current path his life is on, but it requires him to gain the trust of Don Pedro, a suspicious and mysterious man who has many secrets.

Harbor of Spies takes place over a span of six months – a time that may seem short for the reader, but is an eternity for the characters. Lloyd has crafted an intricate web of interconnected subplots and enigmas that subtly ensnare those who venture into the past that was Old Havana, where societal disparities were rampant and no one trusted anyone. A real diplomatic murder serves as the catalyst and the depth of Lloyd’s historical research is evident throughout. He provides vivid portrayals of slavery, human trafficking, manipulations, crime, blockade running, corruption, espionage, jealousy, and romance. This is a story where everyone wears a mask and nothing is as it seems.




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Review of Jane Glatt's Dinghies & Deceit

Dinghies & Deceit by Jane Glatt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Rescued to do someone else’s bidding, Pia prefers to hide in plain sight and keep a low profile. Her only goal now is to protect her younger sister, an innocent victim in the same person’s manipulations. She works hard and learns new tasks, each of which may prove valuable in being able to become self-sustaining. At the same time, she and Frieda help in the global need to provide food during the upcoming winter. Pirates alter her perspective when they invade the warehouse where she works and take her co-workers hostage. Never a willing Intelligencer, she must implement her training to rescue them. Together with Gustav Gunnarson, another Intelligencer, they use traits of Concentration and Charisma to find out what the pirates’ end game is and prove that they have once again formed an alliance with one of the Freeholders.

With winter fast approaching, Intelligencers Dagrun Lund and Calder Rahmson must return to the Sapphire Sea once more to gather food and supplies for the Fair Seas Treaty Alliance. But Dag’s trait keeps warning that something is not right. First, the pirates have divided into two factions and abandoned their longtime base of operations. Second, her twin sister Inger has disappeared. Third, Calder’s father has again lost his assassin’s token. No longer is his target a notorious and dangerous pirate named Pinho; it’s a man whom Inger cares about. Then Dag discovers that children with traits have been taken from their parents and imprisoned. Determined to find and protect them, she follows that trail while Calder attempts to stop his father. If he fails to safeguard Inger, Dag will never forgive him and their love will be lost forever.

In the meantime, the Freeholders gather to determine how to proceed in light of the devastating pirate attack that destroyed the alliance’s ships and placed their people on the brink of starvation. Lauma Straukus, Calder’s mother and the Acting Grand Freeholder, will dissolve the alliance and protect her own people rather than allow another corrupt Freeholder to assume the office. Dag’s suggestion of changing the treaty is a worthwhile one, but getting enough votes for that to happen proves difficult. It doesn’t help that Lauma and Master Intelligencer Nadez seem to be working a cross purposes, especially after Nadez unearths rumors that one of the Freeholders gained their title through murder.

This fourth book in The Intelligencers series is perhaps the most complex. Myriad threads dealing with piracy, human trafficking, corruption, and power are interwoven to create an intricate web, but the tension one might expect from this never quite reaches the mark. The primary focus is on Pia and Gustav’s journey, which is so vividly portrayed that readers will find themselves shivering with cold and yearning for hot soup to regain some warmth. Those new to the series may want to first read the earlier titles to gain a better understanding of who’s who and what traits are. Fans of the series will definitely be intrigued by some of the mysteries left unsolved.




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Review of Upon the Malabar Coast by Philip K. Allan

Upon the Malabar Coast by Philip K. Allan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In February 1803, the world is at peace and a French lieutenant has only information to settle a debt. The information he divulges wends its way back to England, where it comes to the attention of Nicholas Vansittart. The diplomat extraordinaire understands the import of what this means. Whatever is planned most likely concerns the East India trade, which is worth millions to England. To thwart France’s plans, Vansittart requires a fast ship with a captain who thinks outside of the box and he knows just who will serve.

Elsewhere in England, Captain Alexander Clay is enjoying his retirement, although a part of him still wishes he sailed upon the sea. HMS Griffin, his former ship, is in ordinary and his men are scattered. Living in Polwith, Adam Trevan and Able Sedgewick own a fishing boat. Adam spends his free time with his family, while Cupid’s arrow strikes Able. Vansittart intrudes into these idyllic vignettes and, on his wedding night, Able must tell his bride that he and the other Griffins are rejoining the navy. Together with Clay and Vansittart, they are bound for the Malabar Coast.

Clay knows only too well that nothing is ever as it seems and always more complicated than first imagined. Napoleon and peace make strange bedfellows, which means the French admiral’s true mission differs from what the informant divulged. But danger abounds throughout the journey. Able disappears. The Griffins must rescue men from a ship on the brink of sinking. Miscommunication brings aboard a new pet, whose special talents will prove most favorable to Clay. Malay pirates attack Griffin. An alliance between an English ally and the French endangers Clay and his ship. Once dealt with, he must find two needles in a haystack and hope that he and his men are not too late.

With this ninth book in the Alexander Clay series, Allan comes into his own. The depth and intricacy of both the story and the characters are exquisitely interwoven and elicit a variety of emotions in the reader. Some scenes, such as Clay’s conversation with a clergyman or the arrival of Able’s mates on his wedding day, are both amusing and revealing. Others – the night Able reveals his departure to his wife or when he’s imprisoned in a ship’s hold – are vividly poignant. There are also riveting battle scenes and intriguing presentations of extricating themselves from sticky wickets. Upon the Malabar Coast is a welcome return for fans old and new and well worth all the tea in China.




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Review of Helen Hollick's When the Mermaid Sings

When The Mermaid Sings: A Jesamiah Acorne Short Read Nautical Adventure by Helen Hollick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For years, Jesamiah Mereno has endured his older half-brother’s bullying. But the day they bury their father in 1708, the harassment goes too far and Jesamiah fights back. Banished from his Virginia home, he signs aboard a merchant ship bound for Port Royal where he hopes to meet up with a friend of his father, Captain Malachias Taylor. On the way, the vessel is overtaken by a Spanish frigate. In spite of his young age, Jesamiah devises a wily plan and the merchant captain takes a risk on the fifteen year old.

Who is he? The lad with black hair. Special gifts are awakening in eight-year-old Tiola Garrick, but they must be kept secreted from her father – a strict authoritarian minister who rules family and congregation with abusive resolve. Although in Cornwall, she reaches out time and again to safeguard the young stranger, especially once he reaches Port Royal.

Meeting Malachias proves easier than Jesamiah expects, but the merchantman’s bosun is none too happy at Jesamiah’s desertion to Malachias’s crew. A confrontation is inevitable, and soon results in new self-awareness. He’s also tempted by a beautiful mermaid, who mistakes him for his father, while a girl’s voice in his head warns him away from the deadly siren. Tiola has spoken to him in the past, but never before revealed her name. When his father’s ghost also speaks, Jesamiah wonders who’s real and who’s not.

After a successful voyage, the Mermaid returns to Port Royal and Malachias disappears. A week later a note arrives with orders for Jesamiah to appear at a gentleman’s club. When he gets there, he must play the final round of a high-stakes card game. Contrary to Malachias’s hope, Jesamiah loses and, once again, Jesamiah comes up with an audacious plan to regain what is lost. This time it means they can never return to Port Royal.

This short story is a prequel to Hollick’s Sea Witch Voyages series and takes place over the span of nearly three years. Its geographical spread extends from Virginia south to the West Indies and east to England and Africa. I first reviewed this book in 2018, but this new edition includes scenes omitted from the original publication. The point of view shifts abruptly in one or two scenes, which may initially disconcert readers; on the other hand, one character’s recounting of the day Port Royal sank into the sea allows us to experience the event through the eyes of a young boy.

Within the pages of When the Mermaid Sings we learn why Jesamiah changes his surname to Acorne, as well as how he becomes a pirate. Along the way, he meets Henry Jennings, with whom he will cross paths in the future, and Charles Vane, who becomes a deadly enemy. Like the blue ribbon Jesamiah weaves into his plaited hair, Hollick entwines run-ins with the Royal Navy, a murder accusation, a mortal skirmish belowdecks, and a mind-boggling sea chase that nearly costs Jesamiah his life into a fast-paced enchanted tale set before his days as captain of the Sea Witch.




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Review of Lyle Garford's The Sugar Sands

The Sugar Sands by Lyle Garford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Cashiered from the Royal Navy after being found guilty of trumped-up charges of thievery, Owen Spence vows that one day there will be a reckoning with his accuser, a member of the same family that ruined his father. Until then, he must find a new path in life, preferably one involving the sea. A beautiful innkeeper, with whom Owen has an affair, helps in this endeavor, and he soon commands a sloop ferrying cargo and passengers for a plantation. The brutal treatment of the slaves disturbs him, but he is in no position to intervene and desperately needs money to survive. The monotony of his work has him wishing for another job – a real possibility when he happens upon his uncle, whom he hasn’t seen in years.

Alan Giles runs a successful trading company and is seeking a new captain for one of his vessels because he wants to spend time with his family on Barbados. Happening upon his nephew is pure luck, but the more they become reacquainted, the more Alan believes that Owen might be just the man to replace him. And not just in commanding the ship. With his naval training and sea experience, Owen could also surreptitiously gather information for the Foreign Office. After all, Alan’s trading ventures extend from Boston to Porto Bello, and the news he has acquired leads himself and spymaster Sir James Standish to believe that war is in the offing. Should that happen, it would be devastating to the West Indies where more sugarcane is produced than foodstuffs.

This first title in the Owen Spence trilogy takes place between 1772 and 1775, but the series will cover the entire span of the American Revolution. The opening scenes involving Owen and the Royal Navy are quite visual and easily capture the reader’s attention. Once he’s dismissed, the novel serves to set the stage for the forthcoming books. There is some action, as well as an additional romantic angle – both draw readers into the story and make them care about the characters – but the majority of the book involves gathering information and run-ins with a shadowy French ship with an American first mate, who is related to the same radical family that drove Owen’s first mate out of Virginia. This setup promises that when the final confrontation comes between Owen and his crew versus the Frenchmen, more than sparks will ignite. Equally propitious is the expected comeuppance of the family that destroys Owen’s naval career.

Much of the story consists of dialogue, but where action, such as the raid on Bermuda or the confrontation in a Boston tavern where rebels meet, takes center stage Garford keeps the reader riveted. What makes The Sugar Sands different from other stories of the Revolutionary War is its perspective. It unfolds from a Caribbean colonial viewpoint, one rarely covered in works of either fiction or nonfiction. Garford also ably demonstrates how the laws and tariffs that England institutes set the colonists on a war footing. The story is more land-based than sea-based, but incorporates thought-provoking topics – slavery, taxation, conflicting loyalties – that remain relevant today.




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Review of James Boschert's Storms of Retribution

Storms of Retribution by James Boschert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


All is right in Talon de Gilles’s world. He, his family, friends, and retainers live at Kantara, a fortified castle perched atop a Cyprus mountain. Until the day a messenger delivers a reminder of a long-ago pledge. The request to visit Count Raymond reintroduces chaos into Talon’s life and the lives of those he holds dear. No matter his personal inclination, honor demands fulfillment and he and Reza, his best friend, set sail for Tripoli.

The initial crack quickly widens into a chasm when pirates attack Talon’s ships. But he and his men are not the easy targets the sea raiders expect. Talon’s acumen, coupled with his men’s skill and a surprise weapon, wins the day and he acquires two valuable hostages with ties to Sultan Salah Ed Din. Still, one pirate vessel escapes the conflagration, earning Talon an acrimonious enemy.

Although glad to see his old friend, Talon is disquieted by the events Count Raymond relates. The boy who ruled Jerusalem has died and two factions arose to vie for the throne. The new king is weak and easily led by others, especially two men who see Talon as an enemy: the Grand Master of the Templars and Reynald de Châtillon. The former has no tolerance for Arabs and their world; he is there to make certain the Holy Lands remain under Christian dominance no matter the consequences. De Châtillon, a greedy and violent marauder, commits an egregious act that tears asunder the fragile peace between Arab and Latin forces. Now, Salah Ed Din is intent of taking Jerusalem from the infidels and punishing them.

What Talon expects to be a short visit turns into a much lengthier time away from Cyprus where evil forces are stirring. The catalyst that sets them in motion is the Byzantine emperor’s ambassador, whose covert mission is to track down the gold that mysteriously went missing from the royal treasury. One man who suspects the ambassador is Zenos, the Chief Information Gatherer of the island, who craves even more wealth and power than he currently has. Although a mutual agreement is reached between the two men, each has his own agenda and goal. To achieve success, Zenos enlists two potent allies who have their own reasons for participating. Their objective? Kantara, and those within have no idea what forces have been unleashed or that each has a deadly goal that will forever alter the lives of those inside Kantara.

Storms of Retribution is the eighth book in the Talon series. It takes readers to a variety of locales during the year 1187 – a time that proves catastrophic for the Christian cause. Boschert weaves a complex story that mesmerizes readers, yet unfolds in a way that allows them to clearly keep track of who’s who and what’s what. Each side has its own agenda, which creates dire consequences for more than one character at a time, each seeming to be more insurmountable than the previous episode. This tale incorporates a lot of backstabbing, revenge, land and sea battles, sieges, spies, and assassins; it is also spiced with tidbits of humor, the return of old friends and enemies, and the introduction of new ones.

The title, Storms of Retribution, perfectly encapsulates what this story is about. These may involve individuals or be set on a much grander scale, but Boschert ably demonstrates the wisdom of learning cultures foreign to one’s one and the devastating folly of individuals who think their way is the only way –topics that are relevant even today. The narrative could use a bit more proofreading, as there are a number of misspellings and extra words or letters scattered throughout the book. That said, this is a masterful retelling of the battles for the Springs of Cresson and the Horns of Hattin, as well as the Siege of Tyre – events that most readers won’t be familiar with, but that are important for knowing what happened in this region of the world during the Crusades. Not only does Boschert ground the reader in time and place, but he also transports readers there, allowing them to experience firsthand the sounds, smells, horrors, and futility of war.




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The Flower Boat Girl by Larry Feign -- A Review

The Flower Boat Girl: A novel based on a true story by Larry Feign

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Zheng Yi Sao or “wife of Zheng” – this is how history remembers this 19th-century woman. But who was she? How did she go from lowly prostitute to leader of a pirate confederation? These are questions that Larry Feign answers in his retelling of her story.

The first seven years of Shek Yang’s life are unremarkable. She is the daughter of a boat couple, a family that lives and works on the water. Her mother raises her to be a good daughter, one who will eventually marry and raise a family of her own. Her father teaches her the ways of the sea, since he has no sons. But life changes when her mother dies in childbirth. Her father incurs debts that necessitate the selling of Yang into slavery and she becomes a flower boat girl. Her beauty and skills at pleasuring men bring her sufficient sums to buy her freedom. Her shame continues into adulthood, for she knows no other trade and has vowed long ago never to marry or to have children.

In the sixth year of Emperor Ka-hing’s reign, seedy junks with tiger eyes upend Yang’s world. Boat people and villagers flee for the safety of the temple, but those who live on land look down upon Yang, slamming the door before she can enter. Taken by the pirates, she knows exactly what will become of her. She will be sold back into slavery because there is no one to pay her ransom. Death seems a better option, but she refuses to succumb without a fight. Her defiance disrespects Cheng Yat, leader of the pirates. Rather than putting her to death, he takes her as his own and she becomes his possession to do with as he wishes.

Yang hates the sea, but it is now the world in which she must survive. Boredom is a constant companion. As Cheng’s wife, some pirates show small overtures of acceptance. Others see her merely as a usurper. She finally decides she must do something to occupy her days. The powerful and essential, but neglected, guns rouse her curiosity and she convinces the master gunner to teach her all he knows even though these weapons are the domain only of men. During a battle, one of the assailants attacks the master gunner. Yang slays the attacker. The act gains her more acceptance among her fellow pirates, but forever alters her soul. She is now a pirate, a killer, and there is no going back.

As the days pass, she also observes that Cheng is being cheated and that there must be better ways to make money than constantly hunting for prey. His fleet of five junks preys upon the same vessels all the other pirates seek. Grand ideas and dreams of forming a pirate empire begin to emerge, but implementing them will require time and the wisdom to convince Cheng that her way is the right way – a reality that leads to contention. Sometimes, the consequence of a wish granted is the payment of a dear and often unforeseen price.

Opening the cover of this book is like stepping into a vivid painting of a bygone era. Through visual imagery and melodic prose, Feign transports us back to the first decade of 19th-century China. He masterfully depicts the world of Asian piracy, in a way that is both familiar and foreign. Many pirates populate this tale, but each has distinctive qualities that make the character stand out in different ways. By book’s end, we feel as if we know the real Yang. We may not always like her, but we admire and respect her for what she’s able to achieve in spite of her past and the twists that fate dealt her.

Those readers familiar with the real Zheng Yi Sao or Cheng I Sao will not recognize the names Feign uses. Rather than use those names which come from Mandarin, he employs Cantonese versions since that was the language of the people who dwelt on the south coast of China. He also includes a character list, glossary, and map for readers.

The story unfolds from Shek Yang’s perspective, detailing her life from childhood to the day in which she becomes the leader of the pirate confederation. Feign artfully weaves festivals, a typhoon, war, superstitions, Chinese customs, ambushes, fireboats, and the pirates’ struggle with the navy into this tale. Perhaps the strangest custom involves Yang’s pregnancy. The most gut-wrenching scene is the one depicting Cheng’s disappearance. For history buffs, there is the Tay-Son Rebellion in Vietnam and the pirate captivity of John Turner. The Flower Boat Girl provides compelling answers to the mysteries surrounding Yang and Cheng. This haunting, yet eye-opening tale is as “Beautiful as a butterfly, fierce as a tiger.” (Loc 344 of 6794, Chapter 2)




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The Coffin Ship by Cian T. McMahon -- A Review

The Coffin Ship: Life and Death at Sea during the Great Irish Famine by Cian T. McMahon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Emigration from Ireland began long before the nineteenth century and continued after its conclusion, but during the potato blight that caused the Great Famine, there was a mass exodus of people from the country. They sailed on vessels that became known as “coffin ships,” because one in three emigrants died during the journey. This label presents a history of only one dimension and fails to provide a true understanding of the emigration process that these Irish men, women, and children endured. McMahon employs this term for the book’s title to challenge the established concepts of this diaspora and open up new venues of discussion and research that enlighten and expand on our understanding. He does so by sharing what the emigrants thought of and experienced during their journeys using their letters and diaries, as well as newspapers, government documents, and guidebooks of the period.

To best comprehend the context of the Great Famine, McMahon sets the stage with a brief look at what Ireland was like before the blight. This was a time when the majority of landowners were Protestant who leased their lands to tenant farmers. Many were poor, but their lives were enriched by the social community in which they lived. The blight struck first in 1845 and the mass exodus of Irish because of the resultant famine ended a decade later. This is the timeframe that McMahon focuses on here. At the beginning, Ireland had a population of 8,500,000, one million of which would die during the Great Famine. Two million chose to escape the dire conditions, but there weren’t enough ships to carry; this led to delays, additional expenses, and problems that the emigrants had to confront. So how did they cope?

He divides his analysis of this question into five segments: Preparation, Embarkation, Life, Death, and Arrival. Chapter one focuses on how the Irish gathered the necessary resources to leave Ireland. This was but the first step as chapter two shows by examining how the emigrants traveled to their embarkation points. Both of these illustrate that an intricate network of relationships existed to help them to acquire the tickets and items they needed for the journey and get to the port – most often Liverpool, England – where they could board a ship that would take them to their new homelands.

Chapter three concerns the ocean voyage itself, while chapter four deals with death at sea. What life was like and how the emigrants adapted are key components here, as is how their shared experiences dissolved old bonds of the past to form new bonds to cope with life and death at sea. The final chapter discusses what happened once the ships docked at their destinations, the challenges the immigrants faced, and the revamping of relationships tying them to their new homes in addition to the one of their birth.

Part of the Glucksman Irish Diaspora Series, The Coffin Ship includes an essay that discusses the sources McMahon consulted and his methodology. Graphs and illustrations are interspersed throughout the narrative. Endnotes, a bibliography, and an index round out this study.

Most histories concern the emigrants who traveled to America, but McMahon includes those who sailed to other parts of the world – Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand – and includes the convict experience as well. Through the use of poetry and quotations from primary documents, he breathes life anew into these individuals so that readers experience their emotions, joys, and sufferings. He also shows how the migratory process worked and consisted of reciprocal means that extended far beyond the national boundaries of Ireland to reconnect Irish immigrants with those left behind. We often think that emigrating is a solitary experience, and to some degree it is, yet McMahon also shows how helping hands existed all along the way, allowing social bonds to dissolve, reform, and reconstitute themselves. Even though his study focuses on the Irish diaspora, he connects it to current issues concerning refugees. This is an invaluable addition for any collection dealing with the Great Famine, the Irish diaspora, and the refugee experience.




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The Sea of Silence by Seth Hunter -- A Review

The Sea of Silence: A Nathan Peake Novel by Seth Hunter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Twice before the man facing Nathan Peake has tried to kill him, yet now he offers what Nathan craves – command of a ship in time of peace. Even so, experience has taught him not to trust Gilbert Imlay, especially since what he reveals is often only a portion of what is necessary to know. His plan may seem to advance the interests of the Americans and the British, but their previous encounters have taught Nathan that, in reality, it promotes Imlay’s own. Trusting a spy is rarely a good thing. Imlay has the support of the First Lord of the Admiralty and Admiral Lord Nelson, who brings the two together. Instinct warns Nathan to refuse, but out of courtesy to his former commander, he listens to Imlay.

The current cessation of hostilities between England and France after many years of fighting is merely an interlude. Napoleon Bonaparte still rules, which means he has plans to expand his domain. Since the Royal Navy no longer enforces its blockade of the French coast, a French fleet of eighty ships carrying 20,000 troops has sailed for the West Indies. They intend to put down the slave rebellion on Saint-Domingue, using whatever means are necessary. Once peace is restored the island will be the staging grounds to launch an invasion on Louisiana, where Napoleon intends to establish a second empire. Imlay proposes, with Nathan’s help, to throw a wrench in those plans by running guns to Toussaint Louverture, the rebel leader. The longer he and his men can delay French forces, the less likely Napoleon’s grand scheme will come to fruition.

Rather than refuse outright, Nathan agrees to view the captured French corvette. She’s relatively new and well-manned. The sea calls and Nathan is torn. Better to think things through overnight. As he places greater distance between him and the vessel, Nathan resolves to decline the invitation . . . until a trusted friend visits him with news. One of their acquaintances has been arrested – an unforeseen complication with a resolution that alters Nathan’s decision to work with Imlay. What could possibly go wrong?

This is the seventh novel in the Nathan Peake series, but can be read as a stand-alone novel. It takes place early in the first decade of the nineteenth century and combines intrigue with smuggling, a sea chase and sea battle, mass murder, and treachery. It features two of Napoleon’s siblings, as well as General Charles Victor-Emmanuel Leclerc and Touissant Louverture. Several other historical personages make cameo appearances. Fans of Peake will enjoy this addition to the series. Several scenes involve thrilling action or unbelievable horrors, while the tidbits about the past may entice new readers to discover the earlier titles of Nathan Peake’s adventures.




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