The Armada Boy: Wesley Peterson Crime Series: Book 2 (The Wesley Peterson Murder Mysteries) - Softcover

Ellis, Kate

4

2,837 ratings by Goodreads

9780749953409: The Armada Boy: Wesley Peterson Crime Series: Book 2 (The Wesley Peterson Murder Mysteries)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0749953403 ISBN 13: 9780749953409

Publisher: Piatkus Books, 2011

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A murder that echoes across the years . . .

When archaeologist Neil Watson finds the body of an American veteran of the D-Day landings in the ruins of an old chapel, he turns to his old friend DS Wesley Peterson for help.

Both men are researching an invading force: Wesley, a group of American veterans on a sentimental journey to their wartime base; and Neil, a group of Spaniards killed by outraged locals as they limped from the wreckage of the Armada.

Four hundred years apart, two strangers in a strange land have died violently. Could the same motives of hatred, jealousy and revenge be at work? Wesley is running out of time to find out . . .

The second gripping installment in the Wesley Peterson series by acclaimed crime writer Kate Ellis.

Why readers love Kate Ellis:

'I hardly put this novel down from the moment I picked it up. Oh yes, and as with all great crime novels, I would never have guessed 'whodunnit'!' Amazon Reviewer, 5 stars

'A beguiling author who interweaves past and present' The Times

'Kate Ellis and Wesley Peterson have done it again. Strong characters, strong plotting, no detail escapes Kate Ellis' Amazon Reviewer, 5 stars

'Haunting' Independent

'Enjoyed the first in the series but through this was even better!' Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

'I loved this novel . . . a powerful story of loss, malice and deception' Ann Cleeves

'The chilling plot will keep you spooked and thrilled to the end' Closer

'Unputdownable' Bookseller

'It's fast paced with twists and turns guaranteed to keep you hooked right until the final page' York Evening Press

'A cracking multi-layered mystery with red-herrings a-plenty...an outstanding read. Highly recommended!' In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel

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Review:

Fifty years after D Day, a group of American veterans has returned to the small Devonshire town of Bereton where, in 1944, they prepared for Normandy, amazed the local children with gifts of candy and comics, and courted the local maidens. When one of the old soldiers, Norman Openheim, is found stabbed to death in the ruins of the same chapel where the GIs and the village girls once held their wartime trysts, Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson finds his investigative attention torn between the past and the present. There is no shortage of suspects. Dorinda, Openheim's widow, is acting anything but bereaved in the company of tall, handsome Todd Weringer; a trio of post-adolescent urban urchins (Dog, Rat, and Snot) has been harassing the local merchants at knifepoint; and Norman's romance of 50 years ago produced a son with a criminal record and, just maybe, a lifetime of resentment built up against the father he never knew. More intriguing to Peterson and archaeologist Neil Watson are the parallels that exist between this murder and the murder of a sailor from the Spanish Armada in 1588. Hatred, jealousy, and revenge have cast 400-year-old shadows, and Peterson must untangle a skein of accusations, resentments, and family alliances that stretch back through the centuries.

Kate Ellis's The Merchant's House, with its blend of history and detection, moved beyond the familiar territory of the British cozy. Unfortunately, The Armada Boy falls well short: dull characters and no sense of plot cripple it from the start. One can't help but feel cheated when the solution to the murder is, literally, handed to the detectives (in the form of an ancient letter), breaking all the rules of mystery fiction. But Ellis's prose style is engagingly straightforward and sometimes lively, with an occasional dose of gentle humor. Her dialogue, though, leaves much to be desired. For the most part, her Devonshire locals sound like an unholy hybrid of BBC announcer and London beggar. Even more jarring are her Americans, who might have been plucked straight from an Agatha Christie novel: they "guess," they "reckon," and they greet novelties with: "Say, that's a mighty fine idea!" Perhaps in her next outing, Ellis's contemporary characters will receive the same attention to detail as their historical counterparts. --Kelly Flynn

About the Author:

Kate Ellis was born and brought up in Liverpool and studied drama in Manchester. She is the author of the Wesley Peterson murder mysteries, as well as the Albert Lincoln trilogy and the Joe Plantagenet mysteries.

In 2019 Kate was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award for the second time. She has also twice been shortlisted for CWA Short Story Dagger.

Visit her online at: www.kateellis.co.uk

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