Freedom's Ghost
A Mystery of the American Revolution
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
As the drumbeat of the American Revolution grows ever closer, Scotsman-turned-American-patriot Duncan McCallum must navigate treacherous cultural and political waters if he’s to secure a fighting chance for the fledgling nation in this gripping installment of the acclaimed Bone Rattler series
After narrowly avoiding death in London at the hands of the king’s secret agents, Duncan McCallum returns to colonial America only to discover that his troubles have followed him across the Atlantic.
The harbor town of Marblehead, Massachusetts, is a smoldering powder keg as British loyalists and advocates for liberty feverishly maneuver to determine the future of the colonies. When a Native American sailor is scapegoated for the gruesome murders of officers of the British occupation troops, McCallum will have to face off against ruthless adversaries close to the crown. Soliciting the assistance of such notable historical figures as John Hancock, Crispus Attucks, and John and Samuel Adams, McCallum must rely on his skills in science, subterfuge, and diplomacy to stave off a war for which America is not yet prepared.
Just as Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series took readers on a thrilling journey through the Napoleonic Wars, Freedom’s Ghost and the Bone Rattler series offer riveting historical adventures embedding readers in the clashes and intrigue of the American Revolution.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Edgar Award winner Pattison (The King's Beast) delivers another rousing adventure for Scotsman Duncan McCallum in pre–Revolutionary War America. The year is 1770, and Massachusetts is a powder keg waiting to explode as tensions mount between the British Redcoats and the American Sons of Liberty. When a British soldier is found dead with his lips sewn shut, it falls to McCallum, currently employed by merchant John Hancock, to uncover who is responsible. During his investigation, McCallum rubs elbows with John Adams, British Maj. Gen. Thomas Gage, Benjamin Franklin, and Crispus Attucks, the real-life Black Indigenous sailor who was the first person killed at the Boston Massacre. As more Redcoat bodies pile up, McCallum's investigation, aided by his resourceful fiancée, Sarah Ramsey, is stymied by agents working for the shadowy Black Office of the British War Council. The climax involves a furious chase up the Hudson River as McCallum's brig, filled with escaped slaves, is pursued by a slave-catching schooner. Though the narrative is a bit overcrowded, McCallum is a forward-thinking hero who embraces equality, and Pattison fully immerses readers in the daily life of colonial Boston and Manhattan. This historical mystery is good fun.
