Review of Sailors & Spies by Jane Glatt

Sailors & Spies by Jane Glatt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The machinations of the former Grand Freeholder of the Fair Seas Treaty Alliance (FSTA) have left their world in chaos. All but two ships have been destroyed and, with winter soon upon them, there isn’t enough food to sustain everyone. Worse, the evidence suggests that someone else was behind Tarmo Holt’s failed attempt and the danger remains.

Dagrun Lund and Calder Rahmson, both Intelligencers, are sent to find much-needed supplies before the seas freeze. That is their primary mission, but Dag has a second. She pursues Holt in hopes of reuniting with her twin, Inger, whom Holt manipulated into doing things that have labeled her just as much a traitor to the FSTA as he is.

Nadez Norup is forced to become the new Master Intelligencer. It’s impossible to know who to trust, since Dag and Calder are away, and clues suggest that someone has been acquiring some of the Intelligencers to work against the FSTA. Some do so freely, but at least two – Janni and Jarri Breck, who should never have been trained as spies in the first place – are held against their will and compelled to use their Traits to do unspeakable things.

The last thing Lauma Strauskas wanted was to become the Grand Freeholder, but Calder’s mother has accepted the interim position. Somehow, she must lead the FSTA out of the mess left behind, but not everyone agrees that she is the best person for the job. The more she and Nadez work together, the greater the danger – a fact that is soon reinforced when assassins try to kill her. Both women, however, are determined to unearth the mastermind and help everyone survive the coming winter. If necessary, Lauma will dissolve the treaty, a dire step that might be the only available option, but doing so will also disband the Intelligencers.

The journey to purchase supplies provides Dag and Calder with essential clues that eventually necessitate they separate to accomplish their missions. Before then, they interdict a ship in distress. Dag’s Unseen Traits warns that the pirates aboard are merely playacting and Calder knows one of them. That man is Rahm, Calder’s father Rahm. He pretends to be a pirate, but Dag figures out that he is actually a spy and a man whose secrets have secrets. He can’t be trusted, but her pursuit of Holt and Inger necessitates his help. It also brings her into the realm of the Resolutes, the most feared of all assassins. Nor is she alone in pursuing Holt. A rich, powerful, and ruthless pirate seeks him and will kill anyone who gets in his way.

While Sailors & Spies may seem anticlimactic, the sleuthing connects dots that provide invaluable clues for the two volumes yet to come. It serves as a way-stop in answering two key questions: How and Why. The many single threads in this third book in The Intelligencers series are intricately woven into an unfinished tapestry yet to be resolved. After the last chapter, readers will crave the next installment.



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