Six years ago, Jonas Flynt left London for the West Indies to rescue his stepmother, but the journey ended in tragedy. For the past six years, he has been captaining a ship, hunting down people who have crossed him, all the time searching for the person responsible – Daniel Hawke. And now, in 1724, Hawke has come to London – and Jonas Flynt has followed him.
A lot can change in the six years that Flynt has been away. Alliances have shifted, and the difference between an old friend and an old enemy seems to have shrunk. Without knowing who to trust, Flynt is determined to finally track down Hawke. But other people have Flynt in their sights as well – will this be the end of the rad for Jonas?
Well, yes, this is the final book in the Company Of Rogues series, that started with An Honourable Thief in 2022. It’s a superb series, and I was hooked from page one of this one. While the series has never been about the mystery plot – there are some in some of the books but it’s never the primary plot strand – the books have all been some of the most evocative historical thrillers that I have read. I’m not desperately au fait with Britain in the range of George I – are the Georgians on any school history syllabus in the UK? – but Douglas Skelton brings the world vividly to life.
And that world is populated by such vivid characters. It’s worth noting that most of the returning characters weren’t in the previous books – they didn’t all get together and hire a ship to the Caribbean like an eighties sitcom Christmas special – but I didn’t need reminding who they all were and their past experiences with Flynt. And I cared about where all of their stories were going.
So, that’s the story so far, what about this one? Well, it’s one of the most enjoyable books that I’ve read in an age, a fitting end to Flynt’s story – and to the stories of the various characters herein. It’s a tale of double-crossing, shifting loyalties and difficult choices – the subplot involving Jonas’ young friend Jack and his girlfriend Bess was absolutely riveting.
It’s an excellent read, but I think readers will get most out of it if they’ve read the whole of the series. And if you have any interest at all in historical crime stories, then I strongly recommend that you read the whole lot in order – this one’s out tomorrow, so I’d get started quick…
A Thief’s Revenge is out tomorrow in hardback and ebook. Many thanks to Canelo for the review e-copy.
The Jonas Flynt Adventures:
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 