The Turncoat: Renegades of the Revolution. Donna Thorland.
Penguin Group (USA). March 2013. 432 pp. hbk. ISBN #: 9780451415394.
Kate
Grey is living quietly as a Quaker in Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War
in the American colonies in the 1700s when in one night her whole world
undergoes an indescribable change. The
British soldiers who invade her home, headed by Major Peter Tremayne, are
aggressive and frightening. Tremayne
forces a kiss upon this reluctant woman who reacts with awe to the senses
awoken by his forceful, sensual kiss.
But she also sees something that night that converts her from the
stereotypical Quaker pacifist to a fierce, determined Patriot who will do
anything to see the “Red Coats” defeated!
A
mysterious woman known as the “Widow” arrives and it is very clear that she is
not a Quaker and is really a spy. She
will undertake Kate’s training in skills to be used against the enemy, a
formidable task that will earn Kate death if she is caught. At the same time,
their activity results in the court martial of Peter Tremayne, the man who
loses everything but cannot forget Kate Grey, the woman who possesses his mind
and heart from that first but brief encounter and kiss.
The
novel will continue and bring the reader into enemy plans, battles, other spies
and Loyalists who will do anything to force the British to leave. Kate’s father is serving General Washington,
two men who know far more than the British realize and whose network of spies
enables advance action in the face of huge numbers of enemy soldiers.
Philadelphia is a prize for the victor, one that demands multiple waves of
devious strategy.
Peter
and his cousin, “Bay Caide” hold a deep, dark secret that many seem to know but
will not reveal. Tenderness, bitterness,
stark cruelty, and sweetness fill these pages which are predictable in one
sense but totally unpredictable as certain events test the will of both Peter
and Kate. Love of country demands
nothing less!
The Turncoat: Renegades of
the Revolution is
a realistic, harsh and sweet story to be relished – a fine piece of historical
fiction!!!
