Stevie‘s review of Contraband Hearts (Porthkennack, Book 10) by Alex Beecroft
Gay Historical Romance published by Riptide Publishing 28 Apr 18
Cornish coastal towns are teeming with legends of smugglers, wreckers and pirates, and the fictional locale of Porthkennack is no exception. We’ve heard some of the tales told by its inhabitants already, as well as meeting one or two modern-day rogues. Now at last we get to meet a real historical rapscallion, not to mention the handsome customs officer sent from London, who is to bring him down and investigate corruption in the town along the way.
Hackney-born Peregrine Dean – Perry – has spent five years working for the London customs office. After coming to the attention of a wealthy, influential, and titled patron, he has been sent to Cornwall to investigate corruption amongst the customs officers of Porthkennack. On arrival, however, he is given a new mission by the local magistrate: track down and capture the notorious smuggler, who shares a last name with the lawman, and ensure there’s enough evidence to stop the reprobate and his crew’s operations once and for all.
As Perry begins to investigate, he soon learns that the ordinary folk of Porthkennack hold the seafaring Tomas Quick in far higher regard than his land-loving namesake, and many indeed owe their continued existence to the man’s charity and his importation of expensive, difficult-to-obtain goods. Meanwhile, Tomas has a vendetta of his own against the magistrate and his family, whom he claims have deprived himself and his mother of the status and inheritance to which they were entitled through Tomas’ father.
Although Perry and Tomas are on opposite sides of the law, they find that they have a common enemy: a gang is kidnapping black sailors from shipwrecks and selling them to slavers bound for the plantations across the Atlantic. The same gang may also be responsible for other crimes, including wrecking and plundering. Tomas – a devout Methodist – is bitterly opposed to both slavers and wreckers and is determined to stop the gang and rescue their latest victim, while Perry slowly begins to see that Tomas’ lawbreaking stems from an anger at unjust laws that favour rich over poor and can even start to sympathise with the local customs officers who turn a blind eye to some of Tomas’ misdeeds. It becomes apparent, as Perry investigates the wreckers and the kidnappings, that the person behind these crimes is very well connected – as well as a devious and cunning opponent to both men.
The romance between Tomas and Perry builds slowly and is beset by misunderstandings and miscommunications. Both our heroes are stubborn and Perry is a little too keen to rush into danger by himself – although he does eventually learn his lesson after one too many unfortunate encounters with members of the wrecking gang.
This book was an entertaining romp through an historical interlude that felt oddly disconnected from wider events of the period, in spite of various characters’ connections to them, although that could be explained by the relative isolation of Cornish towns in those times. I enjoyed the subplots around Tomas’ mother, but would have liked to have seen more of some of the other crewmembers’ situations without being deprived of anything in the main plot. Long may this series continue.
Grade: B
Summary:
His future depends on bringing the smuggler to justice. His heart demands to join him.
Customs officer Peregrine Dean is sent by his patron to investigate rumors of corruption in the Porthkennack customs house. There he is tasked by the local magistrate to bring down the villainous Tomas Quick, a smuggler with fingers in every pie in town. Fired with zeal and ambition, and struck to the core by his first glimpse of Tomas, Perry determines to stop at nothing until he has succeeded.
Tomas Quick is an honest thief — a criminal regarded by the town as their local Robin Hood. He’s also an arrogant man who relishes the challenge posed by someone as determined and intelligent as Perry. Both of them come to enjoy their cat-and-mouse rivalry a little too much.
But the eighteenth century is a perilous time for someone like Perry: a black man in England. Two have already disappeared from the wrecks of ships. Tomas and Perry must forsake their competition and learn to trust each other if they are to rescue them, or Perry may become the third victim.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
