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A Nick Williams Mystery #24
The Roving Refugee
Thursday, December 8, 1960
Nick and Carter are jetting across the Atlantic to the island of Capri for the funeral of the Dowager Duchess of Boston. On the way, they're dropping off Marnie and her husband, Alex, so the two can spend a relaxing few days in Paris.
When they arrive in Europe, Nick and Carter receive a distressing message. Paul Vermaut, their good friend from the Congo, is sick with a mysterious disease that has the doctors baffled. He's been on the run from the Congolese civil war, traveling thousands of miles over land, and is now hospitalized in Salisbury, the capital of Southern Rhodesia.
Right after the funeral, Nick and Carter fly south to get Paul and bring him back to the States and, hopefully, back to health.
Once they land in Salisbury, they discover Paul is dying and his lover from the Congo, Freddie Nyemba, has likely been arrested by the police for being on the grounds of the hospital illegally in an area reserved for Europeans without a pass, something required for all Africans in the British colony.
Nick and Carter have to come up with a plan to sneak Freddie out of Southern Rhodesia and into the U.S. without getting caught.
If they fail, he'll be deported to a land he loves but thrust back into the middle of a civil war he wants no part of...
- GenresM M Romance
294 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2018
16 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 17, 2018
The Roving Refugee (Nick and Carter #24)
By Brank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2018
Five stars
People of my generation remember when South Africa and its neighboring Rhodesia were no-go zones; Americans simply didn’t travel there. For all its gold and diamonds, South Africa was under a shadow like that of the Soviet Union, only it wasn’t communism. I remember in middle school in the late 1960s that our social studies teacher, Mr. Silvan, taught as about Apartheid, which he pronounced carefully as apart-hate.
We forget, in the midst of our reborn national shame over racism and anti-immigration sentiment, that there were places in the world that were far worse.
Nick and Carter are at a funeral in Capri with a group of English aristocrats when they receive word that a friend of theirs from their Léopoldville days in the Congo is seriously ill in Salisbury, South Rhodesia. Of course they immediately plan a new adventure that takes them by boat and plane to the charming, verdant, and rigidly controlled center of African racist political practice. They begin to break laws gleefully in order to do good.
There are things that Frank Butterfield always does in his books. He always describes people by height, weight, clothing, and looks. He always makes Nick cry. As this series has developed and matured, he always shines a light on an unpleasant piece of our history, to remind us once again what heroes Nick and Carter really are, although they never seem to think so themselves. Along the way they meet a cast of characters who bring the past alive and make it feel very much present. Some of these people remind us of our worst selves; some of the best part of us. Some are more ambiguous.
This time, for all that they do, Nick and Carter are ultimately upstaged by Nick’s stepmother, Lettie Williams. Nick is also confronted with the simple fact that his money can cause problems as well as solve them. Perhaps my favorite irony is the moment when a closeted financial minion of the government approaches Nick and Carter to request on behalf of the U.S. Government that they stop taking gold out of the country, because Nick is apparently the largest shifter of U.S. cash to Europe in the country. The irony here is that the very country that hounds him and Carter relentlessly for being gay, also wants them to play nice so the FDIC doesn’t get into trouble. Don’t know where Butterfield came up with that, but it’s a pretty nifty detail.
There are no new lessons in this book. There are new places and new faces, and plenty of new things to bring tears to your eyes from the many emotions Butterfield’s stories release in his readers. But every book in this series, beneath the fun and the wide-eyed time travel into the past of my childhood, reminds me how lucky I am, as a gay man in America, right now. In spite of everything; in spite of the anxiety that everything could change for the worse (so it seems some days). Ultimately, I am reminded that anyone who has a circle of devoted friends who care for him and are cared for in turn are the luckiest people on earth.
By Brank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2018
Five stars
People of my generation remember when South Africa and its neighboring Rhodesia were no-go zones; Americans simply didn’t travel there. For all its gold and diamonds, South Africa was under a shadow like that of the Soviet Union, only it wasn’t communism. I remember in middle school in the late 1960s that our social studies teacher, Mr. Silvan, taught as about Apartheid, which he pronounced carefully as apart-hate.
We forget, in the midst of our reborn national shame over racism and anti-immigration sentiment, that there were places in the world that were far worse.
Nick and Carter are at a funeral in Capri with a group of English aristocrats when they receive word that a friend of theirs from their Léopoldville days in the Congo is seriously ill in Salisbury, South Rhodesia. Of course they immediately plan a new adventure that takes them by boat and plane to the charming, verdant, and rigidly controlled center of African racist political practice. They begin to break laws gleefully in order to do good.
There are things that Frank Butterfield always does in his books. He always describes people by height, weight, clothing, and looks. He always makes Nick cry. As this series has developed and matured, he always shines a light on an unpleasant piece of our history, to remind us once again what heroes Nick and Carter really are, although they never seem to think so themselves. Along the way they meet a cast of characters who bring the past alive and make it feel very much present. Some of these people remind us of our worst selves; some of the best part of us. Some are more ambiguous.
This time, for all that they do, Nick and Carter are ultimately upstaged by Nick’s stepmother, Lettie Williams. Nick is also confronted with the simple fact that his money can cause problems as well as solve them. Perhaps my favorite irony is the moment when a closeted financial minion of the government approaches Nick and Carter to request on behalf of the U.S. Government that they stop taking gold out of the country, because Nick is apparently the largest shifter of U.S. cash to Europe in the country. The irony here is that the very country that hounds him and Carter relentlessly for being gay, also wants them to play nice so the FDIC doesn’t get into trouble. Don’t know where Butterfield came up with that, but it’s a pretty nifty detail.
There are no new lessons in this book. There are new places and new faces, and plenty of new things to bring tears to your eyes from the many emotions Butterfield’s stories release in his readers. But every book in this series, beneath the fun and the wide-eyed time travel into the past of my childhood, reminds me how lucky I am, as a gay man in America, right now. In spite of everything; in spite of the anxiety that everything could change for the worse (so it seems some days). Ultimately, I am reminded that anyone who has a circle of devoted friends who care for him and are cared for in turn are the luckiest people on earth.
August 28, 2018
This series continues to delight.
August 31, 2018
I just finished reading all 24 books in a row. I am so glad I found this series after the first 24 were already available. Looking forward to book 25.
March 7, 2020
Another winner
I love Nick and Carter but....I’m ready for them to start staying home for a while. Whenever they leave the USA my heart is in my throat until they come home, and boy, was this the case in this book! My heart ached for Nick and Carter as they visited a sick friend in Rhodesia but then my heart absolutely broke for Freddie. And the way the Africans were treated by the English sickened me. I’m still thinking about the Congolese that Nick and Carter met in the makeshift tent town, sniffle....GAH! Until Lettie swooped in like a damsel in shining armor could I finally start breathing normal again. She has a take control attitude that I admire. I also love how Nick never gives a second thought as to how his inheritance can benefit those in need.
There is so much to admire in these books. Discrimination of all kinds is always present in this series. This shame should never be overlooked, forgotten, nor white washed. And no one does a better job than this author of bringing it to light. But it doesn’t take away from the love and joy brought to life by two amazing characters in Nick and Carter and their supportive family of friends. This book is another winner in an amazing 5 star series.
I love Nick and Carter but....I’m ready for them to start staying home for a while. Whenever they leave the USA my heart is in my throat until they come home, and boy, was this the case in this book! My heart ached for Nick and Carter as they visited a sick friend in Rhodesia but then my heart absolutely broke for Freddie. And the way the Africans were treated by the English sickened me. I’m still thinking about the Congolese that Nick and Carter met in the makeshift tent town, sniffle....GAH! Until Lettie swooped in like a damsel in shining armor could I finally start breathing normal again. She has a take control attitude that I admire. I also love how Nick never gives a second thought as to how his inheritance can benefit those in need.
There is so much to admire in these books. Discrimination of all kinds is always present in this series. This shame should never be overlooked, forgotten, nor white washed. And no one does a better job than this author of bringing it to light. But it doesn’t take away from the love and joy brought to life by two amazing characters in Nick and Carter and their supportive family of friends. This book is another winner in an amazing 5 star series.
January 26, 2019
Good Mystery
I like the depth of research that supports every book in this series. The history sections in each book are some of my favorite parts. Good story and character development, even with the tragedy of the situation. Nice denouement and the ending pulls the story threads together well.
I like the depth of research that supports every book in this series. The history sections in each book are some of my favorite parts. Good story and character development, even with the tragedy of the situation. Nice denouement and the ending pulls the story threads together well.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews