FICTION

The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan

by Robert Hough
Anansi. May 2016. 304p. ISBN 9781770899452. pap. $15.95; ebk. ISBN 9781770899469. F
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Benny Wand is an illiterate, chess-playing hustler and petty thief in 17th-century London. Arrested and deported to Port Royal, Jamaica, known for its roughnecks and lawlessness, Benny lands in the company of privateer Henry Morgan and his seagoing brethren. Morgan finds the sandbagging con man to be clever and useful as a strategy consultant, but this tenuous alliance comes with dangerous strings attached, for both parties. Their perilous relationship takes them through Panamanian jungles, battles with the Spanish, and fortunes lost and won. With trust ever a central issue, this constantly strained union could prove to be fatal.
VERDICT Hough (Dr. Brinkley's Tower) spins this historical novel with pleasnant touches of believability. It reads at a good clip with the humid, sinew-knotting, bug-infested, and sweaty narrative of an eyewitness.
Reviewed by Russell Miller, Prescott P.L., AZ , May 01, 2016
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