Book
Review
Basic Details:
Book Title: Death of a Young
Lieutenant
Subtitle: The Jake Reynolds
Mysteries, #1
Author:
B.R. Stateham
Genre: hardboiled/noir
Part of a series? Yes
Order in series: 1
Best read after earlier
books in series? No
Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10783851-death-of-a-young-lieutenant
Overall
score:
I
scored this book 5/5
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Short
Summary of the book:
An interview with a war veteran brings a
different story than was expected. Our hero turns out to be an art thief and forger,
who turns out to have a knack for playing detective.
What
I liked about the book:
What initially appeared to be a possibly boring
story, soon turned into an intriguing detective story.
What
I didn’t like about the book:
I liked the entire book.
My
favourite bits in the book:
How Jack managed to escape the Germans time
after time.
My
least favourite bits in the book:
I enjoyed the entire book.
Any
further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?
This promises to be the first in a series.
What
books could this be compared to and why?
This
book stands on its own and I can’t think of a book to compare it to.
Recommendation:
|
Children
|
No
|
|
Young
Adult
|
No
|
|
Adult
|
Yes
|
If
you like detectives and war stories, this
book may be the book for you.
I
look forward to reading more books by this author.
Book
Description by Author:
Meet Jake Reynolds.
Art thief extraordinaire. His specialty is Renaissance masterpieces, with a few
'modern' selections thrown in. His modus operendi is to create an exact replica
of the original and switch them with the original going to his client. His
'technique' in aging a masterpiece he developed himself. A secret he will carry
to his grave. His clients are fanatical art connoisseurs who are very powerful
and very rich. He worked his trade from 1903 through 1950 and retired. Never
arrested---rarely suspected of his true occupation.
And unlucky.
Unlucky in that, while trying to complete one of his many capers, he somehow is
dragged into a murder investigation. Unfortunately he is a thief with a
conscience. As the series evolves we see he develops a reputation of being a
'crackerjack detective.' All sorts of people and police departments come to him
to ask for his help. But how can you solve a murder (a crime, which for him, is
a crime which cannot go unpunished) and complete your own felonious endeavor
without being caught?
The first book in
the series is entitled, The Death of a Young Lieutenant. In the opening weeks
of World War One, and as a member of a newly formed British Royal Flying Corps
squadron shipped off to Belgium, he is asked by his squadron commander to prove
the innocence of a young lieutenant accused of murdering an NCO. At the same
time Jake wants to steal a 14th Century Jan van Eck painting. The problem is
both the evidence to prove or disprove the lieutenant's guilt and the painting
reside behind enemy lines. How do you prove a man's innocence and steal a
masterpiece while an entire German army is breathing down your neck?
About
the Author:
I am a seventy year old writer of genre fiction. And yes, my
portrait was used in 1931 for the original design of Boris Karloff's
Frankenstein (well, maybe I'm stretching the truth just an itsy-bitsy bit).
I write hardboiled/noir. And fantasy. And someday . . .
someday I plan to make a buck two ninety-five doing it. But I'm not holding my
breath.
