1722:
Spider John used to work on a whaler but after it was boarded
by pirates he had no choice but to sign articles and become
a pirate too. Now he and his friend Ezra have joined another
such vessel The Plymouth Dream, with its unstable and volatile
captain and ruthless crew. Nobody seems friendly and not long
after their arrival Ezra is found dead. As he drank so little,
surely he cannot truly have been drunk and fallen? It is up
to Spider to discover the murderer and avenge his friend.
I am always looking for novels that avoid the well-trodden
path and deliver something fresh and new and this book fits
the bill. A combination of thrilling seafaring yarn and historical
mystery set just after the heyday of pirates, it gives a warts-and-all
look at what life “on the account” might have
been like. Violent, unpredictable and often short, the escape
it offered from the discipline of the navy, the horrors of
slavery or the drudgery of many other careers caused it to
be dubbed “the sweet trade.” Spider is not keen
on the life however, and thus the novel has a protagonist
the reader can empathize with. In true classic whodunit style,
having a ship as the venue for murder makes it akin to the
old house party setting; a set number of suspects who all
have motives. This is a story where anybody could be guilty,
but there is plenty going on in this taut tale besides sleuthing.
Battles at sea include a tussle with another pirate ship and
the inevitable naval vessel intent on their capture, and this
is also clearly the first book in a planned series. I do hope
so, as anybody who likes mysteries, sea stories and adventures
in general ought to enjoy this. Highly recommended.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
The
Bloody Black Flag - Book 1
The
Devil’s Wind - Book 2
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