Death Ship Of Dartmouth (2006)

Book Info

Author

Michael Jecks

Genre

Fiction

Series

knights templar

Rating

3.95 of 5 Votes: 3

Your rating

ISBN

0755323025 (ISBN13: 9780755323029)

Language

English

Publisher

headline book publishing

Shops

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

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About book Death Ship Of Dartmouth (2006)

Some long running detective series may claim to be "stand-alones" but they definitely are not.Death Ship of Dartmouth presents this problem as it remains a tricky one to get into, with its hugely complex cast to sort out when one is unfamiliar with impinging past events in the series. It seemed obvious early on that I had jumped into a long standing and detailed story line accumulated over many books and I was going to be lucky to get out of it all still aware of who exactly the protagonist (or two) was/were. The characterisations however were entertaining and the micro-relationships even more diverting. Even so, three quarters of the way through, there seemed to be a lot of circular movement between evil ship and shore in a plot vortex that stalled forward action. By then it was clear to me that this was NOT the ideal choice for a first foray into Jecks' oevre...though now I read some of the other title reviews I expect I will return to the beginning of this series to sample earlier titles and try again.

Amidst political turmoil, a man has been found dead in the road and a ghost ship has been found at sea. Meanwhile, the rebel Roger Mortimer has been sending out spies, threatening civil war.I read this rather quickly while on holidays and the details were quickly forgotten. But I do remember quite enjoying it, despite being a little disconcerted by all the rape (and there truly is a lot of rape!).Death Ship is a solid mystery with strong characters, and the historical fiction aspect is well executed. The violence, particularly against women, is realistic without being gratuitous.All in all, a well-written novel and an excellent addition to any historical mystery collection.

Do You like book Death Ship Of Dartmouth (2006)?

My twenty first book in the series, and this was a delight for me. I enjoyed the setting, especially since it involved poring over some very old maps, and I loved the characters. Especially the Coroner, Sir Richard de Welles, who is based upon James Robertson Justice and Brian Blessed. I actually laughed as I wrote him, he was such a delight to conceive and flesh out. And then, when it was all done, this was shortlisted for the Theakstone's prize for the best crime novel of the year. I was pipped at the post, but the book has always appealed, and to be voted as one of the six best novels of the year is pretty good!
—Michael Jecks