Traitor's Blood ~ Michael Arnold

A while ago I wrote a whole thing about THE English Civil War, well that one was set prior to Charles I's wife leaving the country, this one is set after she has left. No point in fretting, the King is still all of one form. What I find intriguing is that in fewer than two months, not one but two books about the same era and the same conflict feature spies. This leads me to believe there is a richness in the idea that no one could be really trusted or entrusted during this period. It's as though the whole Scottish way of selecting leadership suddenly found its way south. I understand that the King was a Stuart and all that, but this is taking it to another level.



The once dashing, now scarred Captain Stryker is entrusted to locate and collect a suspected spy-ring leader immediately after the first battle of THE English Civil War. There are but a few moments where there is no action, but in those the intensity of the moment is equally palpable. Stryker's past re-emerges and haunts him during the task he is adamant to fulfil. His old mates, keenly aware of Stryker's moods help the reader along by educating a promising young Ensign who was also selected for the mission.

As deception looms around every corner, there are moments where one's faith in things being done for the right reasons shine through, despite the grimness of war. What Arnold also does well is include the complexities that religion, former allegiances and family create and how they can completely derail a person during the most inopportune moments. Though, they are quite rightly heralded when most opportune.

I truly enjoyed this author's first effort. It's really more than just an effort, it's a damn good story. My only critiques, have nothing to do with the content or the author: 1) I am at a loss to understand why books regarding the THE English Civil War are not marketed in Canada - it's ultimate conclusion has a lot of bearing on the future of this country, particularly considering the fracas in Scotland a little over one hundred years later and 2) the plastic coating on the book is rolling back. Not that I let these things stop me from a good read.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy