From Publishers Weekly
Alan Lewrie, intrepid sailor and charming scoundrel, is back in Lambdin's superb 16th Royal Navy adventure. Lewrie is an endearing characterhero, philanderer, smuggler, spy: a courageous naval officer unencumbered by high morals or indecisionand during the brief peace between England and France in 1801, while on a reconciliation vacation to Paris with his wife, Lewrie encounters old enemies and former lovers, all seeking revenge for past injuries and insults. A botched audience with Napoleon Bonaparte sets assassins on Lewrie's trail, and after they kill someone close to Lewrie, he vows bloody revenge. When war resumes in 1803, he is given command of a heavily armed frigate and another chance to go to sea and kill Frenchmen. The harrowing sea adventures that follow take Lewrie and his crew from France to Louisiana and put Lewrie's seamanship and quick thinking to the test. As expected, Lambdin leaves just enough loose ends in this swashbuckler to ensure there will be another sequel of intrigue and cannonballs. (Mar.)
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From Booklist
In the sixteenth Alan Lewrie novel, the rakish adventurer with more than a passing thematic resemblance to Tom Jones (Fieldings character, not the singer) is in Paris, just after the turn of the nineteenth century. Hes looking for a little fun, and maybe some intrigue, but he doesnt expect that hell end up racing across the high seas, locked in a deadly pursuit. But then Lewrie has a habit of getting himself into dicey situations, doesnt he? Fans of this series, which has seen its protagonist grow from a boy into a man (while retaining many of his boyish traits), will enjoy the book for its rousing story and for its authors writing style, which combines drama and light comedy. Readers who havent yet sampled Lewries adventures need only know that comparisons to Forester and OBrian are entirely appropriate. --David Pitt