Rapscallion

by James McGee

Book Overview

For a French prisoner of war, there is only one fate worse than the gallows: the hulks. Former man-o-wars, now converted to prison ships, their fearsome reputation guarantees a sentence served in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1605984272
• ISBN13: 9781605984278
• Release Date: May 2013
• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Length: 460 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Maybe not quite as good as the first 2 ....

I eagerly awaited this, the 3rd, in the series featuring Hawkwood, an unconventional Bow Street Runner. The plot is already summarized, so I won't go into detail. As in the first 2 books, the author has a real talent for action scenes. Although pretty violent, I enjoyed them immensely, it was like being there ... without the bad smells of course. Funnily, I usually go for mysteries with either female protagonists or those which avoid blood and guts. There is just something about our "hero" ... more like an anti-hero ... that captures interest and holds it. This was my least favorite of the 3 books to date, perhaps due to the setting. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to the next "R" book. I just wonder whether he will look with SO many scars after his adventures, that there will no place left on his face that's clear ... and that would certainly detract from what I imagine is a very attractive, bad boy guy.

Action adventure at its best. What a great read!

RAPSCALLION (Hist/Pol. Proc-Matthew Hawkwood-Georgian) - VG+ McGee, James - 3rd in series Harper Collins, 2008, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 9780007212729 First Sentence: Sark stopped, sank to his knees and listened, but the only sounds he could hear were the pounding of his own heartbeat and the rasping wheeze at the back of his throat as he fought desperately to draw air into his burning lungs. The Navy sent two officers out to investigate reports of a smuggling operation and the increase in the number of enemy prisoners who have escaped detention from their prison ships. The first investigator was found having drowned and the second hasn't been heard from. The Home Secretary now requests the Bow Street, and Bow Street has assigned Matthew Hawkwood to go undercover aboard one of the ships. Conditions aboard ship are more vile that could be imagined and Hawkwood is soon fighting for his very life. With each new McGee book, I am fascinated to see on what historical subject he will base his plot. The first book, "Ratcatcher," had to do with political plots and the security of the Royal Family. The second "Resurrectionist," was much darker and dealt with grave robbers. This third book focuses on the treatment of foreign prisoners of war and smuggling. His period descriptions and historical detail make his books evocative and educational. This is high action and suspense at its best. Think Saturday matinee pirate movies. It is definitely plot, rather than character drive, but that doesn't make the characters any less interesting. It does mean you don't know whom to trust. McGee's writing is incredibly visual, which is both good and a bit hard to deal with at time, and it is always incredibly exciting. There is a bit of "ride to the rescue" at one point, but McGee even makes that work. This is the consummate edge-of-the-seat, great weekend read and, I think, McGee's best book so far.

Hawkwood Assists the Royal Navy

James McGee is the pseudonym of Glen Moy, who was born into an army family in 1950. He was educated in Gibraltar, Germany and Belfast, giving him a love of travel, which is evident in his meticulous, vivid portraits of diverse people and places. His varied career has included banking, bookselling, thirteen years in the airline business, and book reviewing. This is the third novel (the other two being Ratcatcher and Ressurectionist) featuring Matthew Hawkwood, a Bow Street Runner, and a bit of a loose cannon as far as taking orders from his superior is concerned. An ex-army officer and one of the best shots in his regiment. Matthew is more used to giving orders than taking them and he is not above bringing his own form of rough justice to the slums and drinking dens of Regency London.. I must admit to enjoying this book slightly less than the previous two. I am not sure whether it is the fact that Hawkwood is taken away from his old stamping ground of the slums of London and the dross that live there, along with his old sergeant Jago, who has helped Matthew on more than one occasion in the past. Jago the self styled king f the beggars became almost as much a part of the storyline as Matthew Hawkwood himself. This book is still well worth a read and it is not necessary to have read the other two books, although they may give some relevant background information on the lead character Matthew Hawkwood. The storyline places Hawkwood in the more rural setting of the Thames estuary and involves among other things smuggling and the prison ships known as the hulks. These are the rat infested, rotten, flea ridden stinking hulls of former men-of-war converted to hold French prisoners from the Napoleonic wars. To be sent to the hulks is tantamount to a death sentence. Amazing the Royal Navy have received information that a well organised smuggling racket is taking place within the confines of the hulks and when two naval officers sent to investigate mysteriously disappear it is time to see whether Hawkwood can fare any better in a world that is as close to hell as makes no difference.