Cindy Vallar's Blog, page 37

Pirates Magnified by David Long

Pirates Magnified: Get up close with real-life pirates in this search and find extravaganza by David Long

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Think you know about pirates? Open this book and find out. And don’t forget to bring along the magnifying glass that you’ll find inside the front cover, because I guarantee you’ll need it to explore every tiny detail of the pages that discuss pirates and pirate life.

The publisher “believes that books should encourage curiosity” and inspire readers to discover, and Pirates Magnified surpasses this goal. I’ve read a lot of books about pirates, but even I met a new pirate or two as I studied each page. Just don’t expect this to be your typical picture book when you open the front cover. There are illustrations galore, but you will have to come back time and again to absorb all the information found inside.

So what will you find within these pages? There is information about when pirates lived, the merchants whose ships carried the “treasure” pirates wanted, how pirate ships navigated the seven seas, and what life was like when a pirate went hunting. Next, you’ll meet eleven pirates from different countries, some of whom aren’t always found in other books about piracy.
After learning who these men and women were and what made them stand out from other pirates, you’ll find out about storms at sea and treasure hunters.

All these pages feature a brief summary of the topic, 10 Things to Spot, and a double-page “eye-boggling” illustration populated by many, many pirates and townspeople both on land and at sea. The best way to “read” this book is provided on the page facing the Table of Contents: study the action on the page, read the text, and then try to find the ten objects with the magnifying glass. You may not find them all – I certainly did not – and it may require more than one visit to find all ten. But this book isn’t made to read in a day. It’s meant to be savored and explored, just like a treasure hunt.

There’s also a Rogues Gallery of twenty-one other pirates, including the youngest known pirate. Two pages entitled “Can You Find?” is meant to test your memory. Do you recall seeing the object while you studied the pages and, if so, which page was it on? (If you don’t remember, you’re invited to go back through the book to see if you can find it.) Answers are provided for the pages with the “10 Things to Spot” – and yes, I had to look up a few, including one particularly scurvy shark. To round out your discovery of pirates, the book ends with six rules you need to know to talk like a pirate and three columns of pirate slang. There is also a glossary of words used in the text and general ship terms.

Pirates Magnified is a great introduction to pirates that engages the reader and allows him or her to be an active participant in the learning experience. So much action is crammed onto each double-page spread, it’s mindboggling. A few pirates are depicted in various stages of undress, although in a tasteful fashion that doesn’t include graphic details. For the most part, the artwork is realistically portrayed; at least one cutaway of a ship is more on a par with a Royal Navy vessel or one that the East India Company might sail to allow readers to have a better sense of what ships were like and to cram more pirates in them. Also, larger ships are more interesting and let you see more details than the smaller ones pirates really used.

My only complaint pertains to the choice of ink and typeface used in the text. Both are fine on pages where the background is a light color. But on pages depicting night, black on dark blue causes a lot of eye strain, even if read through a magnifying glass. My eyesight might not be as keen as it once was, but the pages are so busy why make young eyes strain even harder to read what’s printed on them?

What I particularly enjoyed was the inclusion of pirates and other historical information that isn’t often found in other books on the subject. One example of this is “Merchants on the High Seas,” which provides many illustrations of items traders carried from one port to another and is more realistic of the treasure pirates of the golden age actually captured. Another example is the inclusion of a wide range of pirates, not so much from a historical perspective, but rather from a gender, age, and ethnic one. Pirates Magnified is a good sampling of the pirate world and a real brain tester. The book’s sturdy construction insures that it will hold up to frequent usage and close perusal. It’s sure to please inquisitive young pirates and provides a great way for parents and children to learn about pirates together.




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The Ballade of Mary Reede by N. C. Schell

The Ballade of Mary Reede: Twilight of the Buccaneers by N.C. Schell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One summer in 1752, the son of an old shipmate visits John Tanner at his home in the hills of New England. This lad brings with him a small chest with the message that perhaps it’s time to tell the story. What’s inside awakens a host of memories and emotions – some good, some bad – but his friend is right. Nearly three decades have passed since Captain Johnson published his account of the pirates, and he omitted many details to protect John and others. Better to record the full story now, before it’s too late.

Captain Charles Johnson first entered John’s life at the age of ten. The successful investor had once sailed with William Dampier and later journeyed to the Levant. He also has a particular fascination with pirates, attending their trials, collecting anecdotes, and interviewing them in their gaol cells before they hang. When John turns thirteen, Johnson provides him with the opportunity to learn the trade of ship’s carpenter. Once John receives his papers, Johnson offers him the position of master carpenter aboard the Rachel, a brig he helped to build.

Rachel sails for the Caribbean, where the threat from pirates has lessened since Governor Woodes Rogers arrived at New Providence. She is a happy ship and all goes well until a topsail schooner is sighted off the island of Turks. John’s best friend, able seaman Candy Jones, suspects those aboard the strange sail are pirates, perhaps even some he knows. He hopes not, as he took the King’s Pardon and has no intention of going back on his word.

After the captain is rowed over to the pirate ship, some of the cutthroats board the Rachel. Two in particular catch John’s attention. The first is Black Mike Magoon, whom John likens to a “maddened highland bullock.” He once sailed with Blackbeard and is just as crazy and violent. The other has a handsome face and keen eyes that always watch what’s happening around him. Mark Reede is quiet and polite, but prefers people call him by his surname. When John finds himself on Black Mike’s bad side, Reede saves John’s life. Doing so is to honor their captain’s wishes, but the intervention heightens the animosity between the two pirates and Black Mike vows a day of reckoning will come – sooner rather than later.

After Captain Jack Rackham comes aboard Rachel, the looting begins, a trial is held, and volunteers are asked to join their merry band. But John and Candy aren’t given an opportunity to decline Rackham’s generous offer. Both are forced; neither signs the pirates’ articles and each vows to do only what he must to survive. Reede is given the responsibility of protecting and teaching John. As the days pass, John enjoys his time with Reede, yet is also perplexed by feelings that don’t make sense. Although the pirates successfully raid other vessels and trade with maroons and smugglers, their seizures incense the authorities and before long pirate hunters are on their trail.

This is by no means just a pirate tale. It’s also about the maroons and smugglers, people whose lives intersected with pirates. The meaning of nautical jargon may stump a few readers, but its use never impedes the story’s flow. Schell incorporates a mock trial into this narrative, but as a wonderfully descriptive way of showing how pirates entertained themselves and sat in judgment of sea captains and their treatment of the sailors under them. His interpretation of how the animosity sparks between Reede and Magoon is plausible and enlightening. The same is true of what happens to Anne Bonny after she is condemned to hang.

Having Charles Johnson, the author of the most famous pirate history ever published, participate in this story is both delightful and refreshing. His role may be minor, but it is definitely an important one that is easily believed. Schell instills life into this historian’s book so it is no longer mere words on the page. His portrayal of these men and women is as vivid and realistic as the world he weaves around them. He is a master at creating unique, memorable characters be they major or minor ones. Although I share Irish roots with Anne Bonny, it is Mary Reed who has long been my favorite of this famous duo and this story is an admirable and realistic portrayal of her life. As for the minor characters, my favorite is Trinket, a pirate who comes back from the dead.

The Ballade of Mary Reede is the first book in the Twilight of the Buccaneers series. It is a well-crafted, captivating tale rich in historical detail and pirate lore. The love story is both heartwarming and heart wrenching, and even though history tells us how the story must end, never once does Schell permit us to stop hoping that love will triumph. His re-imagining of John’s farewell to Mary is a poignant moment that stays with you long after the story ends.




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Best Pirate by Kari-Lynn Winters

Best Pirate by Kari-Lynn Winters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Tuna Lubbers want the treasure hidden on Crossbones Island; so do Barnacle Garrick, who has the map, and his pirates. As his daughter moves the candle closer to examine the map better, she knocks it over. The flame burns through the map precisely where X marks the spot, which angers her father. He warns Augusta that she must “be nimble and fearless – not clumsy and afeard!”

Her teacher is the nimble, sneaky, and fearless Scully – the dog who will sneak onto the island and steal the treasure right from under the tuna-loving cats. Augusta practices everything that she learns and is well on her way to being the pirate her father wishes. Until she drops a cannonball on Scully’s good paw.

With only a peg leg left to stand on there’s no way he can retrieve the treasure as planned. No, that task falls to Augusta. It’s the only way to make amends. She takes the jolly boat ashore to find the treasure. Instead, she comes face-to-face with Scuppers, the son of the captain of the Tuna Lubbers.

Scuppers is terrified to confront a Frilly Dog, but he can’t go back without the treasure. Before the showdown between the two begins, the ground gives way beneath their paws and they fall into a deep hole. Finding the treasure proves simpler than either expects. Escaping from the hole, deciding who gets the treasure, and getting it back to the ship before anyone discovers them gone prove s to be a bigger problem to solve.

Best Pirate is a wonderful, amusing tale that shows sometimes it takes smarts, rather than fighting, to get out of a sticky situation. And sometimes an enemy may really be a friend . . . if you’re willing to work together. The story is beautifully illustrated with expressive characters that capture the imagination of those reading or listening to this pirate tale. To get readers and listeners into a proper frame of mind for the story, the inside front cover features examples of Pirate Talk and the inside back cover has Nautical Talk, as well as a diagram showing the parts of a ship. This is the third tale featuring Augusta Barnacle and it’s the best one yet!




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Assassins of Alamut by James Boschert

Assassins of Alamut by James Boschert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


During an attack on a caravan, Frankish soldiers are drawn into battle with the Turks. At the same time, a second, smaller group of interlopers snatches fourteen-year-old Talon de Gilles and the priest Jean de Loche and whisks them away from Palestine. Not once during the long journey to Persia is Talon permitted a chance to escape, and he soon learns that a silent captive suffers fewer beatings.

There is little Sir Huges de Gilles can do to rescue his son. The only ones who might have a chance are the Templars, but their network of intelligence doesn’t extend into the mountainous regions of Persia where Talon has been taken. He may never see his son again, because the Saracen sect that has taken him works for the Master and are called “Assassins.” They wage a silent, murderous war on Christians and Muslims alike. They are feared by everyone, but fear no one. Once an Assassin slays his target, he expects to die and go to Paradise.

In the castle of Samiran, Talon is kept alone in a room without windows. All he has known has been taken from him, and he expects death to be his future. But the Master has other plans for this noble boy. He is of an age where he can be trained and molded to do the Master’s bidding, and one day in the future, Talon will infiltrate a royal court and murder an infidel king. The priest is of lesser worth, but his knowledge of Latin and the ways of Christians will help other boys learn to be invisible when their chance for Paradise comes.

Taken from his solitary prison, Talon is taught all the necessary skills of an assassin and the ways of the Ismaili. His partner in training is Reza, and because he accepts Talon, both boys are never fully trusted by the others. As time passes they become experts in archery, fighting with blades, wielding all manner of weapons, and the art of stealth. Talon also learns about Persia’s history and people. His first real test comes not in training exercises or demonstrations, but on the hunt when he and another boy are tracking a lion. After the other boy is badly wounded, Talon risks his own life to save the other boy. The wounds he suffers nearly kill Talon, but his slaying of the beast gain him stature and respect among the Ismaili at the castle.

While convalescing, Talon meets the beautiful Rav’an, the thirteen-year-old sister of the Master. A friendship is kindled in the garden, but such contact is dangerous for both of them. Rav’an understands what awaits Talon and that there can be no future for them together, but still she savors each rendezvous. She comes to trust him and knows he will protect her no matter what. When her brother sends her to Alamut while he travels to Syria, she asks that Talon and Reza be named as her protectors. Rather than be parted from his friend, Talon asks Rav’an to seek permission for Father John to accompany them as well.

Rav’an’s faith in her protectors is well placed, for they keep her alive when an enemy band attacks their party on the way to Alamut. She has always liked this castle where she was raised, but even before they enter its gates, she notices changes. The people are fearful and a sense of foreboding permeates the fortress high in the mountains. She soon discovers the reason why – her uncle and cousin rule through fear. Uncle Arash has the eyes of a cobra and his network of spies throughout the Middle East makes him a powerful and devious man. Cousin Ahmad is overly protective and always telling her what to do. The more she is around them, the more she begins to fear she may never see her brother again. She enlists Talon’s help and he soon discovers her fears are well founded.

Rather than allow the treachery of Arash and Ahmad to succeed, she and her protectors, with the aid of Father John and her maid, plan their escape. Timing will be crucial. They must leave just as the first snow falls and before the mountain passes are sealed shut for the winter. But two will have to sacrifice themselves to succeed in this venture. Even after they reach their first safe haven, there are many more dangers to face before they can find and warn the Master. Even then, they may not be safe.

Assassins of Alamut takes place during the Crusades and is the first book in the Talon series. Boschert includes maps and a glossary of Persian words to help readers unfamiliar with this culture. This epic adventure in exotic locales is reminiscent of the historical sagas popular in the 1970s and 1980s. From first page to last you are whisked back in time, yet although set in the past, this story is relevant to what happens in the world today – children stolen from their parents and trained to fight, religious fanaticism, and senseless killing to further one’s goals. Hope, love, and loyalty are intertwined with hatred, jealousy, and betrayal. You shiver from the cold. You smile as love unfolds. You hold your breath as each new danger appears. Whether the well-drawn characters warm your heart or creep you out, this haunting and captivating story spins a spidery web around you so that when the last page is turned, you are compelled to read the next book to learn what becomes of Talon and Rav’an.




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Vital Spark by Leah Devlin

Vital Spark by Leah Devlin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Having secured a new job as a fisheries biologist at a marine station in the Upper Chesapeake Bay, Alexandra Allaway finally comes home to her grandfather and his best friend – the two men who’ve raised her since she was a baby. Instead of a happy reunion, the friend has vanished and her grandfather has been murdered. Clutched in Randy Allaway’s hand is an old gold coin. She also finds an old map with three dots and a message to tell no one and that someone named JAllaway might come.

Unable to stay in the house, Alex bunks in her grandfather’s tugboat, Vital Spark. Her companion is a misbehaving, over-exuberant nuisance, a dog whom she calls “Water Boy.” Long after Alex falls asleep, a noise awakens her. Emerging from the cabin, she sees a slender woman dressed in white whispering to Water Boy. When the intruder spots Alex, she dives overboard and vanishes.

Once the police arrive, Alex heeds the warning to keep silent. Detective Jay Braden leads the investigation, but personal problems at home soon require more of his attention and his partner, Detective Will Jenkins, must spend more time with Alex. She’s uncertain how she feels about this, since her acquaintanceship with Will dates back to their high school days. On one hand – the one that dropped the eraser down the back of her jeans – he’s a jerk; on the other, he’s attractive and she remembers the one night they spent together a long time ago.

Each year around this time, her hometown of River Glen stages its annual pirate festival. According to legend, the infamous pirate Giles Blood-hand sailed up the Chesapeake and buried his treasure here. As far as Alex knows, no one has ever found the legendary gold, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t still looking for it. Against her better judgment, but at a friend’s urging, Alex dons pirate regalia and attends the festival. While there, she meets Carly, Will’s five-year-old daughter. Carly is the only good thing to come out of his relationship with his manipulative ex-wife. Carly loves playing “pirate” and innocently remarks that Alex looks just like Giles Blood-hand’s sister.

Alex works to puzzle out the clues left to her while the police investigate not only her grandfather’s death and friend’s disappearance, but also the murder of another woman bearing a marked resemblance to Alex. Disparate threads unravel to reveal an intricately interconnected web whose origins date back to Giles Blood-hand, and with ties to a twenty-six-year-old unsolved murder.

The first entry in the Chesapeake Tugboat Murders series, Vital Sparks keeps you guessing until the very end. The book is populated with a host of characters similar to a circus sideshow, enriching the story and making your visit to River Glen memorable. Devlin deftly weaves science, history, pirate lore, romance, and mystery into a remarkable tale with serpentine twists and a final showdown that promises more puzzling mysteries to come. Her Giles Blood-hand Wikipedia entry seems authentic, but it’s as much a figment of her imagination as this delightful cast of characters and thrilling romantic suspense.




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Hook's Tale by John Leonard Pielmeier

Hook's Tale: Being the Account of an Unjustly Villainized Pirate Written by Himself by John Leonard Pielmeier

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Everything you think you know about me is a lie. (2)

Perhaps not everything, but the Scottish playwright doesn’t seem to have gotten a lot right, so sharing his own story finally sets the record aright. We know him as Captain Hook – a name he does use – but he is dubbed James Cook upon his birth in the Year of our Lord 1860. (’Tis the year his father is lost at sea.) Gifted with a love of reading, James discovers a true treasure amongst the many books in his father’s library: A History of the Voyages of Captain James Cook. (The illustrious one better known to history, of whom James’s father was a direct descendant.)

Life first goes awry when he’s sent by his grandsire to Eton College, where his father’s reputation proves insurmountable. Everything James attempts ends in failure, and his mates ridicule and taunt him to no end. Do they not have the gall to frame him for a prank in which he had no part? Rather than face being kicked out, James quits the school in the dark of night, intending to meet his father’s family once and for all. Alas, at fourteen, James isn’t privy to the ways of the world and the evil that lurks in the shadows, which is how he comes to find himself impressed into the Royal Navy and at sea the next morn.

But James makes the best of his situation – a good thing since he’s in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – and learns the art of sailing and fighting, as well as other tasks deemed fit for a cabin boy. An injury festers, which lands him in sick bay, and during his recuperation, he discovers a map hidden in his favorite book. (Of course the map shows an island and an “X”! What pirate tale would not?) Afore long the man who shanghaied him learns of this treasure map and demands James hand it over. Not knowing what else to do, James heeds the “request,” only to soon discover that the man and his mates have mutinied and James is now a pirate.

During the voyage to find the treasure island, a storm overtakes them and when the sky clears, can you guess what they find? Aye, matey, islands in a world where no one ever ages, latitude and longitude never change, the sun rises in the west, and no matter which direction they sail don’t they always end up where they started. The first island explored offers skeletons and eggs – the former they avoid, but the latter they have for breakfast. All except one, which James pockets. Now, you can be guessing what type of egg, and you’d be right. When it hatches, James names the wee crocodile “Daisy” and raises her as if she were his own child.

Being a young lad, James takes to exploring the island in hopes of finding the treasure. Instead, he meets Arthur Raleigh, a mate of his father who’s been living alone in a cave for fourteen years. Late one night, the need to know more about his dad lures James from his post as lookout. A fatal mistake to be sure since another ship’s crew sneaks aboard and a fight ensues. The pirates surely do win, but forsaking one’s duty has dire consequences for James. Or so he expects, but a boy who can fly saves the day and, during many adventures, they become friends. But there’s a dark side lurking inside Peter, which James glimpses when Peter steals his shadow, and despite their promises to always be fast friends, ’tis a pledge that is horribly shattered.

Like a sprinkling of fairy dust, this imaginative and riveting tale whisks readers back and forth between England and Never-Isle during the Victorian Era. All the elements readers expect to find because of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan are seamlessly woven together into a vivid tapestry that is sometimes joyous, other times chilling, and nearly always unexpected. While some scenes involve children, this story is meant for adults. Addiction, greed, bullying, love, science, and fear play key roles in this story, but perhaps the most dire theme concerns payback. As James writes, “Revenge, dear reader, can be so focused it blinds one to consequences.” (254) A lesson James, and you dear reader, well learn in this imaginative tale of love, betrayal, and growing up.




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Blue Water, Scarlet Tide by John M. Danielski

Blue Water Scarlet Tide by John Danielski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Royal Marine Captain Thomas Pennywhistle swims ashore in July 1814, to rescue a captured lieutenant who is scheduled to hang as a spy on the morrow. He succeeds in the endeavor, but not without cost, and the result adds to his haunting memories of war. Fighting had never been his goal, but an incident during his days at medical school forced him onto this path – one at which he is very good. Thus his next mission is to find a suitable landing site along the Chesapeake Bay for British troops from Admiral Cockburn’s flotilla. Unlike last time, he’s determined that the slaves who help him will secure their freedom.

He and Gabriel Prosser meet at a pre-arranged rendezvous near the Patuxent River, but are unexpectedly interrupted by four men. These Marylanders have come to move hidden gold, and from them he learns that they are responsible for the loss of a missing ship and her crew. Pennywhistle recovers the British payroll, locates a good place to land soon-to-arrive regiments of veteran infantry, and arranges to meet Gabriel at an extraction point. But a posse of slave hunters, with their hounds, track down the runaway slave, only to find themselves led into an ambush.

As the landing time nears for the British troops, Pennywhistle and his scouting party head toward Bladensburg, Maryland. One of their first objectives is to locate the U. S. Navy’s flotilla of gunboats – perhaps the only real impediment to the British advance on Washington. Like an unevenly balanced scale, war pits success against failure, each with its own consequences. This time an innocent soul deepens the indelible wound in his psyche, yet also brings him face to face with his doppelganger, an American Marine.

Captain John Tracy should have killed the British officer rifling through his papers, but is astonished to find himself looking at a man who could be his twin. Although the similarities are too close to be coincidental, he vows to avenge the slaying of six-year-old Molly. Duty must come first, however, and with the British on the march, he prevents them from using the flotilla against his fellow Americans. Then he must locate his commander to report what he knows. On the way to Washington, he encounters a group of drunken teens shooting at Redcoats as they come ashore. His conscience forces him to act, so he launches a daring rescue to save at least some of the lives of these miserable wastrels.

In the ensuing pages of this tale, which takes readers up to the moments before the Battle of Bladensburg, readers accompany the British as they endure marching through enemy terrain in wool uniforms on hot, humid, summer days. They witness surprising and bloody encounters with American marines and inexperienced militia, including an attack from the air in a hot-air balloon and an audacious escape through enfilading fire. They also experience the same frustrations and astonishments as Pennywhistle and Tracy when they encounter the stunning ineptitude of American leaders. Not to mention the startling, yet refreshing, introduction of a frontier sharpshooter, who almost succeeds in taking down Pennywhistle.

Most chapters in this third book in the Royal Marine Captain Thomas Pennywhistle series are of average length, but several are between twenty-five and forty-seven pages long. Readers will encounter occasional misspellings and missing words, as well as several instances where certain phrases may pull the reader out of the story. For example, in 1814, Washington is known as Washington City, rather than Washington, DC (45), and while the effects of adrenaline (415) are familiar, the word itself isn’t coined until its discovery in 1901 by a Japanese chemist. The inclusion of salicylic acid as the active ingredient in aspirin (106) also intrudes into the story.

On the other hand, Blue Water, Scarlet Tide is a thought-provoking and you-are-there recreation of the days leading up to the British invasion of our nation’s capital. Most of the action takes place on land, but a few water encounters provide edge-of-your-seat thrills and heart-stopping action. The story provides readers with a good understanding of the differences between the two armies and ably showcases the contrast between militia and professional soldiers.

Danielski’s strength in crafting stories lies in his knowledge of history and experience as a historic interpreter. These skills allow him to transport us back to a crucial time in the War 1812 to find ourselves marching alongside the troops, experiencing the scratch of wool against sweaty skin, the constant biting of insects, and the throat-parching thirst of trekking along dusty roads under a brutal sun. He also conveys with keen insight the physical and psychological toll war takes on men, especially those who have engaged the enemy for more than a decade. Interwoven through Tracy’s story is a curious mystery about a secret organization that could lead him down a traitorous path. For Pennywhistle, there is an alluring, but highly impractical (the captain’s conclusion, not mine), romantic twist. And then there’s the intriguing thread regarding an occurrence in the distant past that somehow unites these two men in the present. It is hoped that the fourth installment in the series, Capital’s Punishment, will provide resolutions to these storylines as the author once again transports us back to the fateful battle that preceded the burning of the White House.




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The Most Bold and Daring Act of the Age by E. Thomas Behr

The Most Bold and Daring Act of the Age: A Henry Doyle Novel by E. Thomas Behr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Napoleon escapes from exile and returns to Paris, where he proclaims himself emperor. If a shipment of gold, destined for his Shiite collaborators, succeeds in reaching its destination, the leaders of Russia and Prussia will be assassinated and the disruption of supplies to their armies will pave the way for his Grand Armée to defeat the British.

Ten years have passed since Henry Doyle left America and joined the Tuaregs, a nomadic desert people of North Africa. He’s now fifty-one years old, married to Dihya, the leader of his adopted tribe, and together they have a son. A Mohawk and former British spy, he knows England cannot succeed without her allies. The best way to thwart Napoleon is to snatch the gold as it passes through the desert, but to do that he must once again become El Habibka the spy. After successfully infiltrating an enemy tribe, he takes the information to his friend, the Dey of Algiers. But the Dey has his own enemies, and instead of achieving the desired outcome to their plans, the Dey dies and Henry is imprisoned in a dungeon where excruciating tortures are inflicted.

Once a feared manipulator of people and money during the Reign of Terror and later as one of Napoleon’s trusted secret agents, Chameau now lives in a crime-ridden section of Paris. He enjoys his reclusive retirement until he learns that his most despised nemesis is once again afoot. Finally having a chance to kill Henry Doyle entices Chameau to once again assist the emperor in his new bid for power. He must go to Algiers, but first he requires bait to tempt Doyle into a trap.

Patrick Kirkpatrick, a former captain in the American Navy and now a successful privateer, operates out of Nantes, France. He intervenes one night in a vicious assault on an American woman and her brother. Only later does he discover the truth about her and the attack and, realizing the danger Henry is in, he and his men head for the Mediterranean to warn his half-brother. On the way he encounters his old friend, Steven Decatur, now commodore of a squadron of vessels bound for Algiers to force an end to the raids on American ships and the payment of tribute in return for peace. Steven is only too happy to assist, but for Patrick to succeed in rescuing Henry they must find a way to get past the Algerine fortress and into the harbor without their true identity being discovered.

Intrigue, greed, betrayal, and love are intricately interwoven into this sweeping historical novel. Faith and philosophy also play important roles in Henry’s singular life, and Behr ably shows how different beliefs can respectfully intersect and peacefully co-exist. This long-awaited sequel to Blood Brothers takes readers from Algiers and France to the woodlands of the Iroquois Confederacy and the rebuilding of Washington, DC. There are also several sea battles, including an astounding confrontation with a legendary Barbary corsair. While the majority of the action occurs in 1815, brief interludes journey back to 1779 when Henry was a young Mohawk warrior.

This story may not appeal to all readers. At times the language is explicit and leaves little to the imagination. Peter’s union with Lavinia aboard the privateer seems somewhat contrived. The exploration of Henry’s morality and evolving beliefs are at times lengthy, but they are essential elements to the story and his character.

The intricacy of the web Behr spins, the profound depth of his characters, and his ability to meld people from history with imaginary ones are the hallmark of this book and the series. For those who would like to learn more about Henry’s earlier life, he includes a sample chapter from Blood Brothers. For fans who eagerly await the next title in the series, he entices with a preview of The Lion’s Son. Regardless of whether a reader likes or dislikes The Most Bold and Daring Act of the Age, this thought-provoking novel leaves an indelible mark that lasts long after the story concludes.




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The History of Newgate Prison by Caroline Jowett

The History of Newgate Prison by Caroline Jowett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Although this book involves piracy on a peripheral basis, two infamous pirates – William Kidd and John Gow – spent time within the walls of this notorious prison. Divided into seven chapters, The History of Newgate Prison explores its history from its medieval beginning until its demolition in the first decade of the twentieth century. Even though the Central Criminal Court of the Old Bailey now sits where Newgate Prison once stood and the prison has been gone for more than a century, people still remember this “hanging prison.”

Each chapter focuses on a specific period in the prison’s history: its earliest years, crimes and punishments, its existence under the Tudor and Stuart monarchs, effects of the Great Fire, the “republics” that sprang up in the first half of the eighteenth century, its rebirth in the second half, and prison reforms. In addition to being a history of Newgate, this book also traces the development of the English penal system from the days when the Normans occupied the country to its reformation during the Georgian and Victorian eras. Three appendices discuss Newgate’s more famous inmates, such as Robin Hood and Captain Kidd; depictions of the prison in art and literature; and the inmates’ secret language. Jowett also includes an index, a center section of illustrations, and a bibliography.

Even though there are only a few mentions of pirates, readers will find this book to be a fascinating account of what it was like to be a prisoner across the centuries. Entering the fortress prison’s gates didn’t necessarily mean an inmate had committed a crime; for many centuries it played host to debtors like Daniel Defoe and their innocent families. Chapter five dramatically explores a condemned person’s day of execution or what it meant to receive a sentence of transportation.

We think of prisons mostly as public institutions of incarceration, but Newgate was privately run and those imprisoned there had to pay for the “privilege” of entering, leaving, and residing within its walls. Jowett provides vivid descriptions, sometimes in her own words and sometimes in those of people who experienced it. By book’s end it’s easy to understand why this long-gone prison remains an indelible memory of times past. One may also comprehend why some chose to follow the short, but merry, life of a pirate instead of living within. When the back cover closes, readers will be thankful they were never “treated” to the experience of being a Newgate inmate.




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Echo in the Wind by Regan Walker

Echo in the Wind by Regan Walker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Unlike many of women of the ton, Lady Joanna West has vowed to never marry, even though at twenty-five, her brother the earl believes it’s high time she wed. She also refuses to stand idly by why the villagers of Chichester starve from lack of work and the inability to pay high taxes. To that end she begins delivering food baskets to the poor, but now oversees the delivery of smuggled tea and brandy and makes sure the goods reach their proper destinations without alerting the revenue agents. One night in April 1784, her men row her out to meet a new partner, a stranger who could be a free trader or a spy.

Captain Jean Donet silently watches from the shadows as his new partner inspects the merchandise and haggles with his quartermaster. Before the Englishman departs, Jean suspects the stranger is actually a woman in disguise. But that possibility intrigues, rather than discourages him, for he, too, is more than he appears to be. Disowned by his father, he is a French spy, was a privateer for Benjamin Franklin during the American Revolution, and is now a successful smuggler with a fleet of vessels. He is also the comte de Saintonge, a title inherited after the untimely death of his father and older brother. He must finally return to the estate he left years ago, but first he must attend several events leading up to the christening of his new grandson.

Since her brother has yet to marry, Joanna serves as his hostess at a party honoring the new prime minister, who is determined to put an end to the smuggling that plagues England. Two other gentlemen in attendance also catch her attention, but for different reasons. One commands the sloop of war responsible for hunting down vessels engaged in this illegal trade. The other is a forty-year-old Frenchman who seems taken with her younger sister, who has just come of age. Joanna will do whatever is necessary to keep Tillie from becoming a sacrificial lamb.

While in London for the christening, Joanna accompanies a friend to the Old Bailey to attend a trial. But the experience leaves her shaken when the smuggler is found guilty and sentenced to hang. Her chosen trade has become too dangerous, so after one last run, she will find another way to help the villagers. Just as she is about to disembark from her partner’s brig, the revenue ship announces her arrival by opening fire and Joanna is badly wounded.

Jean immediately sets sail and, after successfully eluding his pursuers, attends his beautiful guest. Her best chance of survival is to get her as quickly as possible to a French doctor he trusts. But a storm brews in France. King Louis and Queen Marie Antoinette continue to spend money, even though the country is badly in debt. The incident that killed his family may not have been accidental. And his mind wages war with his heart over his growing attraction for Joanna.

Echo in the Wind is the second book in the Donet Trilogy and takes place five years before the storming of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution. As in the previous title, To Tame the Wind, Walker opens with a list of “Characters of Note” so readers can acquaint themselves with who’s who before the story begins. Aside from Chichester and London, she whisks readers back to eighteenth-century Lorient, Saintonge, and Paris to experience firsthand the discontent of the people and the callow disregard of the nobility. Walker also includes an author’s note where she discusses the history behind the novel.

Chapter one places readers in the midst of the action and shows great promise of suspense, but the pace slows thereafter and doesn’t pick up again until after page 100. Those pages focus more on character development, with only minor hints of possible adventure and misadventure. Yet stalwart readers who brave the trials and tribulations that they and the characters experience will be richly rewarded with a wonderful love story.




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