The Armada Boy: Wesley Peterson Crime Series: Book 2 (The Wesley Peterson Murder Mysteries) [Paperback]

Kate Ellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2011 | Series: The Wesley Peterson Murder Mysteries (Book 2)

A recently murdered American parallels a centuries-earlier murdered Spanish sailor when they appear to share the same motive in this reissue of the second book in the series

An American veteran of the D-Day landings on a sentimental journey with his old unit to their base is the last body archaeologist Neil Watson expects to find in the ruins of an old chapel. Neil turns to his old friend from student days, Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson, for help. Ironically, both men are looking at an invading force—Wesley the World War II American veterans, and Neil a group of shipwrecked Spaniards reputed to have met a sticky end at the hands of outraged locals as they limped from the wreckage of the great Armada in 1588. Local memories prove retentive and Wesley is soon caught up in 50 year-old accusations, resentments, and romances. Wesley's case grows more perplexing, while Neil uncovers a tragic story from the distant past. More than 400 years apart, two strangers in a strange land have died violently, and Wesley is running out of time to find out why.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fifty years after D Day, a group of American veterans has returned to the small Devonshire town of Bereton where, in 1944, they prepared for Normandy, amazed the local children with gifts of candy and comics, and courted the local maidens. When one of the old soldiers, Norman Openheim, is found stabbed to death in the ruins of the same chapel where the GIs and the village girls once held their wartime trysts, Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson finds his investigative attention torn between the past and the present. There is no shortage of suspects. Dorinda, Openheim's widow, is acting anything but bereaved in the company of tall, handsome Todd Weringer; a trio of post-adolescent urban urchins (Dog, Rat, and Snot) has been harassing the local merchants at knifepoint; and Norman's romance of 50 years ago produced a son with a criminal record and, just maybe, a lifetime of resentment built up against the father he never knew. More intriguing to Peterson and archaeologist Neil Watson are the parallels that exist between this murder and the murder of a sailor from the Spanish Armada in 1588. Hatred, jealousy, and revenge have cast 400-year-old shadows, and Peterson must untangle a skein of accusations, resentments, and family alliances that stretch back through the centuries.

Kate Ellis's The Merchant's House, with its blend of history and detection, moved beyond the familiar territory of the British cozy. Unfortunately, The Armada Boy falls well short: dull characters and no sense of plot cripple it from the start. One can't help but feel cheated when the solution to the murder is, literally, handed to the detectives (in the form of an ancient letter), breaking all the rules of mystery fiction. But Ellis's prose style is engagingly straightforward and sometimes lively, with an occasional dose of gentle humor. Her dialogue, though, leaves much to be desired. For the most part, her Devonshire locals sound like an unholy hybrid of BBC announcer and London beggar. Even more jarring are her Americans, who might have been plucked straight from an Agatha Christie novel: they "guess," they "reckon," and they greet novelties with: "Say, that's a mighty fine idea!" Perhaps in her next outing, Ellis's contemporary characters will receive the same attention to detail as their historical counterparts. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

When American WWII veteran Norman Openheim gets stabbed to death while visiting a ruined chapel late one night outside Bereton, England, Det. Sergeant Wesley Peterson has no lack of leads in this absorbing police procedural. First on the suspect list is Norman's wife, Dorinda. It's no secret that she's been having an affair with another man among the group of U.S. army veterans and their wives who've traveled to the south coast of England for a reunion. Norman himself, it turns out, left behind a pregnant girlfriend and possibly some resentment in 1944. As Peterson and his colleagues delve ever deeper into the past, they learn that another reunion group member, Litton Boratski, was accused of raping a local girl, but U.S. authorities squelched the investigation shortly before D-Day. And what is the truth behind the tale of an American soldier shooting dead an Englishman caught rabbit-hunting in an off-limits area? Guidebook extracts that head each chapter give the sad history of shipwreck survivors from the Spanish Armada, who formed another kind of invading army in 1588. The murder of a young Spanish sailor, buried in the Bereton chapel, tragically parallels criminal events centuries later. Though this is only her second novel (after Wesley Peterson's debut in The Merchant's House), Ellis unfolds an intricate yarn of misdirected revenge with all the assurance of a seasoned veteran of the genre. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Piatkus Books (April 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749953403
• ISBN-13: 978-0749953409
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Firing a warning shot across the pond, September 8, 2000

By 

Paul Kellaway (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armada Boy: A Wesley Peterson Crime Novel (Wesley Peterson Crime Novels) (Hardcover)

In Kate Ellis, British literature has a champion to contend with the commercial american heavyweights churning out their tuppenny paperbacks. In the Armada Boy, Ellis successfully produces three narratives of different periods of time, all around the same West Country area. She interweaves these timeframes in a refreshing fashion that rather than slowing and disrupting the flow and pace of the story make the novel flow seemlessly and intelligably between ages. The author maintains the characters from the previous novel but manages to find the right blend of introduction and continuity meaning no readers are alienated in terms of character development. The novel's star characters would appear to be the Americans who I assure you, after spending several hours in the presence of some American Vets. on Christmas Eve are spookily realistic. The interaction amongst the detectives is impressive, with real depth and life which adds to the novel rather than drawing away from the pace of the book.

Bottom line: A great read as either a stand alone novel or part of a sucessful series.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DIDN'T PUT IT DOWN!, August 20, 2000

By 

BEVERLEY CHERRINGTON (ENGLAND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armada Boy: A Wesley Peterson Crime Novel (Wesley Peterson Crime Novels) (Hardcover)

This novel grabbed my attention from the first scene and held it to the last. It is a truly great read.

For me, the real joys of 'The Armada Boy' are the fascinating blend of modern and historical crime; the rich diversity of characters (my personal favourite being Detective Constable Rachel Tracey - a real star in the wings who deserves a novel of her own); and the way in which three completely separate periods of history are woven together so effortlessly. Oh yes, and as with all great crime novels, I would never have guessed 'whodunnit'!!

I hardly put this novel down from the moment I picked it up.I couldn't wait to see what the next page would bring. I inherited my love of crime fiction from my late Grandmother who was a real connoisseur of the genre and as I read this novel I thought often of her. How she would have loved it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent second novel, August 4, 2000

By 

Sally Jones (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armada Boy: A Wesley Peterson Crime Novel (Wesley Peterson Crime Novels) (Hardcover)

I have just finished reading this novel and could not put it down, it is superb! I feel that I must disagree with the above review by Kelly Flynn - if anything this book is more engaging tham "The Merchants House"