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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