Today, I'm delighted to welcome Rosemary Hayes to Ruins & Reading. I'm reviewing her intriguing new release, Traitor's Game. Check it out!
Traitor's Game is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Check out all the other fascinating tour stops HERE!
Traitor’s Game
Soldier Spy, Book #1
Rosemary Hayes
Traitor's Game begins with disgraced Captain Will Fraser returning from the Peninsular War to London, to stay his brother, Jack. He is in the company of his sergeant, Duncan Armstrong, who had lost an arm in combat. The story starts in 1808.
Immediately, we are thrown into the squalor of London's streets – a far cry from the saccharine images of Regency England portrayed in many novels.
While Armstrong is heading to an even less salubrious area, Seven Dials, to find cheap accommodation, Will heads to his brother's address, which turns out to be a proper guest house run by the formidable Mrs Baxter. But on his arrival, he discovers that Will has disappeared a week earlier and not returned. All his belongings are gone, too. The landlady reluctantly lets him stay in Jack's room for one night, whilst he ponders what to do less. With little money to himself, and no longer in the army from which he has been dismissed in disgrace – the details of which are only hinted at in this first novella in a new series.
Will seeks out Armstrong in Seven Dials, entering a world of abject poverty and petty crime. Sourcing a cheaper place to stay, Will wonders what happened to Jack, when he is violently attacked on the way back to Mrs Baxter's to collect his things. The attackers had addressed him by his surname, and it's soon clear that they mistook him for Jack.
When wealthy government employee, James Montagu, learns of Will's arrival, he seeks him out and suggests Will goes in search of his brother. Will agrees. A purse full of coins helps him along the way, but the plot thickens when Montagu reveals there may be a French spy working for the British government.
Was Jack a spy? And if so, is his life in danger? With time running out, Will has to investigate fast. But it's not all plain sailing, as he uncovers lies and half-truths along the way...
Traitor's Game is a riveting, fast-paced adventure that captures your attention right from the start. The mystery surrounding Jack's disappearance is cleverly plotted, as no one seems to know anything about Jack's whereabouts. There are a few intriguing twists and turns, and Will has his work cut out.
But what I enjoyed most about the novel is the realistic setting. Ms Hayes brings the era deftly to life, showing the dark side of humanity in a world where rich people have all the power. The differences in lifestyles are staggering, from the filthy streets of London to leafy Knightsbridge, the capital is an amalgamation of rich and poor, of opulence and starvation, and of criminal elements in all levels of society.
The realistic description of locations leaves you with a strong sense of 'being there'. You can smell the rotting filth on the streets of the poorer quarters, and the stink of unwashed people. And you see the upper-class world with its ornate luxuries for what it really is.
Will is a likeable character, easy-going and obviously loyal to his men, but we won't find out in this first instalment why he was dismissed. Sergeant Armstrong, who is equally loyal to Will, is linked to the event.
Whilst Traitor's Game is an rollicking, captivating historical adventure, there is, however, something that pulls you out of the narrative at times: a lack of editorial attention. There are missing commas in speech in front of title or names, random full stops or double spacing in the middle of the narrative, and spelling irregularities in the form of address. It pulls you temporarily out of the plot, yet it's something that could have been avoided so easily.
Overall, I can highly recommend reading Traitor's Game, as it has a riveting plot, a well-formed, likeable main character, realistic locations, and dastardly antagonists. I'm very much looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Blurb:
'Right from page one you know you are in the hands of a talented storyteller... An exciting tale of espionage and adventure in the classic mould.'
~ R.N. Morris, author of The Gentle Axe
1808.
Captain Will Fraser has just returned from the Front in the Peninsular War. He is disgraced and penniless, the victim of a conspiracy led by a jealous and influential officer. Fraser has been falsely accused of insubordination and cowardice and dismissed from his regiment.Fraser and Duncan Armstrong, his wounded Sergeant, arrive in London to seek out Will’s brother, Jack, who works for King George’s Government.
But Jack has disappeared. He vanished from his lodgings a week ago and no one has seen him since. Friends and colleagues are baffled by his disappearance as is the young woman, Clara, who claims to be his wife.
Then Will is viciously attacked, seemingly mistaken for his brother, and only just escapes with his life. When news of this reaches Jack’s colleagues in Government, Will is recruited to find his brother and he and Armstrong set out to follow a trail littered with half-truths and misinformation.
For their task is not quite what it seems.
Will closely resembles his brother and it becomes evident that he is being used as a decoy to flush out Jack’s enemies. These are enemies of the State, for Jack Fraser is a spy and his colleagues believe he has uncovered evidence which will lead to the identity of a French spymaster embedded in the British Government.
Will’s search leads him to France but in this murky world of espionage, nothing is straightforward.
The soldier turned spy must unmask a traitor, before it's too late.
Rosemary Hayes has written over forty books across different genres, from historical fiction to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books.
Buy Link: Universal Buy Link
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
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About the Author:
Rosemary Hayes
Rosemary Hayes has written over fifty books for children and young adults. She writes in different genres, from edgy teenage fiction (The Mark), historical fiction (The Blue Eyed Aborigine and Forgotten Footprints), middle grade fantasy (Loose Connections, The Stonekeeper’s Child and Break Out) to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books. Many of her books have won or been shortlisted for awards and several have been translated into different languages.
Rosemary has travelled widely but now lives in South Cambridgeshire. She has a background in publishing, having worked for Cambridge University Press before setting up her own company Anglia Young Books which she ran for some years. She has been a reader for a well known authors’ advisory service and runs creative writing workshops for both children and adults.
Rosemary has now turned her hand to adult fiction and her historical novel The King’s Command is about the terror and tragedy suffered by a French Huguenot family during the reign of Louis XIV.
And Traitor’s Game, the first book in the Soldier Spy trilogy, set during the Napoleonic Wars, has recently been published.
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