Matt McAvoy Book Review

David Leng is an author of multiple talents, for sure, and this action-packed adventure is a good showcase for his versatile writing abilities, combining American history with a contemporary mystery thriller.  The final product is a great story about a small group of modern-day historians attempting to find the legendary, rumoured treasure of Major General Braddock, of the King’s colonial army in the mid-18^th century.  Of course, they face competition and danger from an equally determined antagonist.  Narrated along two interconnected timelines, my personal favourite, I have to admit, is the past narrative, as the British fight the French and the Natives for control of the North American continent.  The famed gold is the Crown’s payroll – a significant fortune, which Braddock is desperate not to fall into the hands of the enemy.  Over two-and-a-half centuries later, our group of heroes piece together clues, Dan Brown-style, to find the stash.  I am becoming increasingly fascinated by American history, in part because it is so recent, and there are elements of it still steering events today.  And, of course, I am intrigued by Britain’s dreadful role in shaping the country at the time.  Leng is exceptionally knowledgable in many areas, including this military period.  But he also clearly has an interest in scuba diving and water activities, a huge portion of this book seemingly devoted to this.  Furthermore, and most importantly, he can absolutely craft a decent mystery thriller.

If I’m honest, I felt the modern-day timeline went on for too long, relative to the historical timeline and the page time afforded it.  In my opinion, the scenes set in the past were a good deal more engaging, and I would like to have seen this book more equally weighted or even tipped slightly more in their favour than the present-day hunt.  I didn’t feel the modern-day timeline had the legs that the historical one did, not just in comparison, but reflective of the content; whereas the historical story arc was exciting and informative, the modern-day one felt drawn out.  Being brutal, I feel the latter could comfortably lose a hefty chunk of its page count and be more exciting, engaging and fast-paced for it.

But, that aside, I wouldn’t want to detract from the wonderful positives of the book, and indeed the author.  It’s a great story, with characters you generally do root for in both timelines.  It steers away from any real unpleasantness and there is no violence; were it not for a couple of occasions of very strong language, this book could quite comfortably buckle swashes for the whole family.  Leng is great, definitely one to watch, and I do hope he continues to do what he appears to have a genuine talent for: using in-depth historical research to construct creative, contemporary mystery-thriller narratives.  Well worth a read, and a good example of the genre(s).