Knights of the Sea: A Grim Tale of Murder, Politics, and Spoon Addiction
Elliot Graven has been planning to spend the summer of 1887 with his friend Paisley DeLoup in the small town of Baddeck on Cape Breton Island. The 16-year-olds are looking forward to the quiet since they’re veterans of misadventure, having thwarted and survived the nefarious intentions of Professor Strange the previous year in Spohrville. Since all seemed successfully concluded, they weren’t on the lookout for more trouble, so when Elliot barely survives two murder attempts before reaching Baddeck to join Paisley (who, as it happens, had just been shot), they can only conclude that trouble is looking for them.
History collides with fantasy in Knights of the Sea, author Paul Marlowe’s second installment of the Wellborn Conspiracy series – I’ll have to find a copy of the first book! The quirkiness reminds me of Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole series, only with a lot more at stake, say, than the embarrassment of a trip to the ER following unsuccessful glue-sniffing. Which is not to say Marlowe doesn’t land Elliot in embarrassing situations. At least Adrian didn’t also need to diffuse bombs, or associate with suffragettes, German submarine pilots, werewolves, and the Canadian Minister of Justice.
The characters are all spot on, from one improbable moment to the next. Marlowe’s offbeat humor can even be found in parts of the book where it’s least expected…a few remaining drops to lick when the story bowl is empty. Roll on book three! Young Adult.
