A Surfeit of Guns: A Sir Robert Carey Mystery (Sir Robert Carey Mysteries) - Hardcover

Chisholm, P. F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802733042 ISBN 13: 9780802733047

Publisher: Walker & Co, 1997

Synopsis

Investigating the theft of a cache of high-powered weapons from the armory, Sir Robert Carey winds up at the court of James VI of Scotland, where he is promptly accused of treason in both England and Scotland.

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Reviews

YA?A rip-roaring tale of adventure, based on the real-life figure Sir Robert Carey. In 1592, part of Carey's duty is to patrol the disputed borderlands between Scotland and England and keep the Scots at bay. One night's patrol ends with a skirmish in which one of Carey's men has his hand blown off through the misfiring of a caliver. Further investigation reveals that the armoury's good weapons have been switched for those of a poorer quality. When these, too, are stolen, Carey and a few trustworthy men follow the trail of weapons into Scotland and to the court of James VI at Dumfries. Eventually, Carey finds all the missing weapons, is falsely accused of treason against both England and Scotland, survives torture and later is proven loyal, spends a few stolen moments with his lady love, and eventually makes it back to Carlisle and his own garrison. The rich vocabulary, full of Middle English and Scotch brogue, transports readers back in time. Chisholm's vivid descriptions involve all of the senses, but the author has a knack for conjuring up the most repelling smells, so common to that time and further emphasizing what 16th-century life was truly like. The author adeptly weaves the story's threads from beginning to end, ever twining the bits and pieces of the complex plot into its final patterns. YAs who read historical fiction or mysteries will enjoy this marvelously written novel and will want to seek out Chisholm's other titles about Carey.?Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Once again it's the late 16th century and England's Sir Robert Carey is beset with problems (A Season of Knives, 1996, etc.). As Deputy Warden of the West March in Carlisle, near the Scotch border, he must deal with marauding bands of Scots and with other enemies on the English side as well--among them his brother-in-law Lord Scrope, whose henchman Lowther is temporarily chief of the armory where a shipment of arms from the Queen has recently been stored. When a gun from this shipment blows up in the hand of one of his men, Long George Little, killing him, Carey knows there's trouble ahead. After he and his trusted right-hand man Sergeant Dodd find the armory guns missing, Carey follows a trail, with only Dodd and a couple of others, over the border to the Court of King James of Scotland in Dumfries. And a tangled trail it is--good guns and deadly ones; gun merchants and foreigners; a homosexual King and his arrogant favorite Lord Spynie; and Carey's married true love Elizabeth Widdrington, who, in the end, defies her sadistic husband to effect Carey's rescue from prison and torture, sending him back to Carlisle shaken but with mission accomplished. The author's feel for the language and the rags and riches of the period are undiminished, but the plotting here can best be described in a quote from Carey to his sister: ``Oh, God, Philly, why does everything have to be so complicated?'' A lively read for the history buff but unlikely to make new fans. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The year: 1592. Sir Robert Carey, Deputy Warden of the English West March (on the border between England and Scotland), discovers that something fishy is going on: a shipment of guns--valuable pieces of hardware in the latter half of the sixteenth century--has been replaced by second-rate substitutes. Carey's investigation takes him into enemy territory (Scotland) and, eventually, to the court of King James VI. Chisholm is the pseudonym of historical novelist Patricia Finney, who brings the sixteenth century to vivid life but without ever flaunting the amount of research she did. A Surfeit of Guns is the third novel featuring Robert Carey--incidentally, he was a real person; his memoirs were published in 1972--and it will delight fans of historical mysteries. David Pitt

After a skirmish on the Scottish border, Sir Robert Carey, Deputy Warden of the English West March in 1592, finds one of his men maimed by an exploding pistol. Carey discovers more faulty weapons back at Carlisle Castle, but these are soon stolen, necessitating a dangerous goodwill trip to the riotous camp of the predatory Scottish King James. Feuding clans, political unrest, rowdy humor and exploits, unwise love affairs, and the plight of the poor all play a part in this skillful re-creation of a period rich in action and opportunity. A fine addition to the series (e.g., A Season for Knives, Walker, 1996).
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker & Co
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802733042
• ISBN 13: 9780802733047
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 234