Sailor
Joshua Weyland wants to leave America and get home to marry
his fiancée, so he ships out on the first England-bound
vessel he can find. The Lucy has a drunken captain and is
in a poor state, and Joshua finds himself shipwrecked in the
tiny Devon village of Morwenstow. He is the only survivor,
but why was a light shining that lured the ship onto the notorious
rocks? Unable to get back to his fiancée, he must stay
with the doctor and his daughter who have patched him up,
and while he recovers he is keen to get to the bottom of more
than one mystery.
Set in 1842, this is a stand-alone adventure/mystery that
gets off to a lively start. And despite getting a bit repetitive
in the middle, it manages to hold the reader's interest. Part
of this is due to the author’s readable style, which
keeps the pages turning, plus the likeable protagonist and
some good descriptions of a beautiful place. Josh has to unmask
who is controlling whatever is going on, and although it is
not hard to guess it all, reading about it is very entertaining.
I’ve been to the places mentioned and can attest that
they are accurately described. Plus, the author has done his
research about what it would have been like back then. He
has a good light touch suitable for an adventure story, and
that manages to convey that life could be hard. But he does
not bog down the tale with gloom and instead concentrates
on the exciting parts. I haven’t read this author before
but plan to do so again. If you enjoy a lively historical
novel with plenty of adventure and a touch of romance, I can
recommend this.
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