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Men of Promise

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In the late 18th century, a British captain accepts a command to search for mythical Asian islands and a fabulous treasure in Fasolino’s historical novel.
Recovering from war wounds at his home in Scotland, British naval hero Capt. Bowman West is offered a promotion as commodore of a flotilla. He declines, however, and instead accepts a mission to the South China Sea to search for the fabled Blue Isles in a new ship, the Promise. But there’s a condition: two members of the British East India Company must accompany him on the voyage—a man named Francis Gilbraith and his older secretary, Nile Carrin. West also has a Chinese steward, Chang, who uses broken pidgin to hide his fluent, educated English from others. The voyage that follows is full of incidents and intrigue. An encounter with an English pirate, Clarion, on St. Helena leads to Gilbraith’s mysterious death. Who killed him? West suspects Carrin but continues the mission. In East Africa, West acquires two okapis as a gift for the king of the Blue Isles. At a stop at Madras, he’s captivated by Violet Taylor, the daughter of the admiral stationed there. After entering the Straits of Malacca, which is riven with pirates, West is led to safety by another displaced Scotsman named Ardshiel. A typhoon washes West overboard but he’s soon reunited with the Promise in the Blue Isles. However, Clarion has followed them and a duel ensues to see who will claim the Pearl of Long Ages. Fasolino delivers a largely well-crafted tale of high-seas adventure. The characters are vivid and the action is not only relentless but also believable. That said, more nautical detail would have better conveyed everyday life aboard an 18th century frigate. There’s some repetitive phrasing early on (such as “But there were times…” and “But there were moments…” in the same paragraph) and some unnecessary occasional foreshadowing. The romantic elements are underdeveloped, and that along with the somewhat anticlimactic conclusion make it seem as if the author is setting up a sequel. This would be welcome, even if some elements of this volume could have been handled better.
A promising debut in the footsteps of Patrick O’Brian and C.S Forester, but one that still has a long way to go.

Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4575-3878-0

Page Count: 232

Publisher: Dog Ear

Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2015

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TRUE BETRAYALS

Thoroughbreds and Virginia blue-bloods cavort, commit murder, and fall in love in Roberts's (Hidden Riches, 1994, etc.) latest romantic thriller — this one set in the world of championship horse racing. Rich, sheltered Kelsey Byden is recovering from a recent divorce when she receives a letter from her mother, Naomi, a woman she has believed dead for over 20 years. When Kelsey confronts her genteel English professor father, though, he sheepishly confesses that, no, her mother isn't dead; throughout Kelsey's childhood, she was doing time for the murder of her lover. Kelsey meets with Naomi and not only finds her quite charming, but the owner of Three Willows, one of the most splendid horse farms in Virginia. Kelsey is further intrigued when she meets Gabe Slater, a blue-eyed gambling man who owns a neighboring horse farm; when one of Gabe's horses is mated with Naomi's, nostrils flare, flanks quiver, and the romance is on. Since both Naomi and Gabe have horses entered in the Kentucky Derby, Kelsey is soon swept into the whirlwind of the Triple Crown, in spite of her family's objections to her reconciliation with the notorious Naomi. The rivalry between the two horse farms remains friendly, but other competitors — one of them is Gabe's father, a vicious alcoholic who resents his son's success — prove less scrupulous. Bodies, horse and human, start piling up, just as Kelsey decides to investigate the murky details of her mother's crime. Is it possible she was framed? The ground is thick with no-goods, including haughty patricians, disgruntled grooms, and jockeys with tragic pasts, but despite all the distractions, the identity of the true culprit behind the mayhem — past and present — remains fairly obvious. The plot lopes rather than races to the finish. Gambling metaphors abound, and sexual doings have a distinctly equine tone. But Roberts's style has a fresh, contemporary snap that gets the story past its own worst excesses.

Pub Date: June 13, 1995

ISBN: 0-399-14059-X

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995

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FIREFLY LANE

Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of...

Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah’s maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State.

Tallulah “Tully” Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her “best friend forever,” Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, “TullyandKate” pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny’s second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle’s answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate’s buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, only to blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully’s latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she’s given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it’s too late?

Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-312-36408-3

Page Count: 496

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007

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