Customer Reviews

Montmorency on the Rocks

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This is the sequel to "Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman", which I found necessary to read before I started on this one. Actually, I listened to it on tape and it was excellent. I never would have picked up either volume because the covers did not appeal to me, but as you read the story it becomes clear what is trying to be conveyed. This volume picks up 5 years after the first one ends and it is assumed that Montmorency and his partner Fox-Selwyn have spent it working undercover for the Home Secretary. However, somewhere towards the end of that time Montmorency has picked up the bad habit of using some Turkish drug and is quite addicted. When they return to London, Fox-Selwyn has worked out a scheme of whisking Montmorency away to the Scottish country and having another one of his friends, Doctor Farcett, come along to cure Montmorency of his habit. This would be the same Doctor Farcett that had used Montmorency as a medical speciman during the years when he was in prison. Following some initial awkwardness, the three become inseparable and begin working on a couple of capers. One involves the death of dozens of babies being born on the remote island of Tarimond in the northern Scottish isles, and the other involves two bombings in London. Many characters from the first book are reintroduced and the twists and turns in the plot leave the reader wanting more. And there is room for a third volume. An excellent purchase for those wanting a good mystery.

In the sequel to the first book Montmorency, Montmorency now works with Sir Fox-de-Sewlyn as spies for England. Unfortunately, Montmorency must battle his addiction to a foreign drug and meet the man who saved his life in the first book: Doctor Farcett. In getting the doctor and fellow spy to meet, de-Sewlyn arranges for the three of them separately to go to his brother's estate in Scotland where the doctor eventually helps Montmorency get off his addiction, and then he and Montmorency must help a servants' village escape a massive death of dead babies.

Overall this book was written well, the characters were full of life and the plot was suspensful. I felt that while I was reading it, I was actually in the story. The characters were not bland but were vivid and full of life. The book contains intellegent language but not too hard for any one. I recommend this book to people who wish to read a historical fiction or are interested in spies.

Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations

The search for something as engaging and magical as Harry Potter is a tough one. However, I found the characters of Montmorency, Fox-Selwyn, and Dr. Farcett wonderfully human with both unsavory pasts and compassionate hearts. And the thickly interwoven mysteries compelled me to read late into the night.

I picked up this trilogy at its midpoint reading the second in the series first (Montmorency on the Rocks). Nevertheless, Eleanor Updale manages to catch up the reader quite quickly on the who's who and sketches the important events which lead up to the current plot. For a yonger reader (I'm not sure I shall admit to being a 20-something reading this book for fun:), I would suggest starting with the first in the series to make the chronology easier to understand.

For those children who gobble up Sherlock Holmes, Montmorency will quench their thirst. A very high recommendation.

Set five years after the events of Montmorency, Eleanor Updale's sequel to her loveable anti-hero has him basking in the wealth and glory that comes with being a patriot and spy for his country. That is, he would be if it weren't for the opium addiction he picked up whilst traveling undercover in the East. His friend George Fox-Selwyn is desperate to wean him off it, and so destroys his stash and spirits him away from London society to his brother's house in Scotland. From there, the two men end up on a remote island off the coast where the inhabitants are suffering a under a strangely high infant mortality rate. Joined by their friend Doctor Farcett (who is himself suffering from a crisis of faith after he accidentally kills a man on the operating table) they begin their investigation.

The doctor's presence is welcome to the people of Tarimond Island, but Montermerency lives in fear of the good doctor - for he is the only man who could identity Montmerency as prisoner number 493, being the doctor who treated Montmerency after a devastated fall that left numerous scars across his body. After leaving prison Montmerency made his current fortune by using the underground sewer system to steal from the wealthy; and it's a secret that he still conceals from his friends to this day.

But meanwhile, a bomb has gone off at a London train-station, and though the authorities manage to blame it on a gas leak, it's suspected that insurgents seeking to undermine the government are responsible. Once again Montmerency must call upon his disreputable alter-ego Scarper to find the culprit and bring him to justice, the clues leading him to the proprietress of a boarding house that - like him - has to make the transition from poor to rich in order to disguise her true identity. But Montmerency's opium addiction means that he's constantly in danger of loosing his inhibitions and exposing his true identity. Thus the title of the book not only refers to the rocky island off the coast of Scotland, but the fact that Montmerency is figuratively "on the rocks" when it comes to his personal wellbeing.

"Montmerency on the Rocks" is, like its predecessor, an enjoyable but unique story, largely thanks to its unexpected plot. That is, they're unexpected because they're so straightforward. At the risk of making the book sound dull (which it certainly is not), there is no melodramatic flair or dramatic plot twists here. Everything unfolds at a steady pace. The character's plans are achieved with no major setbacks. Temptation is not succumbed to. Angry mobs are reasoned with. All of it is told in lovely clear prose, but some readers might be surprised by how "easily" Updale lets her characters overcome their challenges; it's not that intelligence and hard-work isn't involved, but that there are no convoluted attempts to make difficult situations *more* difficult.

It's oddly refreshing and it lends a sense of realism to the proceedings that is often lost in many "cloak-and-dagger" novels, and yet Updale still manages to infuse the book with several moments of insight and moral complexity - the man who is blamed for the "gas-leak" eventually commits suicide, but only the reader is privy to this information as the protagonists obliviously congratulate themselves on the cover-up.

Another unusual feature is the dual plots. The bomb and the sickness are completely unrelated, are solved in different ways, and never intersect with one another (though they are thematically related). Likewise, Montmerency's drug addiction is dealt with early and has little bearing on the rest of the story, making the book a three-pronged tale that has pacing which would be downright bizarre if it weren't for the obvious talent inherent in Updale's writing style. She's wonderfully descriptive, from the busy streets of London to the bleak landscape of Tarimond Island, and it's impossible not to feel immersed in the vivid setting that she's created for her flawed but honorable three-dimensional characters. Throughout this series, even the so-called "villains" are worthy of sympathy and understanding.

Unusually for a children's or young adult's book, most of these characters are adult males, but there's no reason at all why the target audience shouldn't thoroughly enjoy what the "Montmerency" books have to offer.

after reading this book - I immediately ordered the balance of the series

I could not put the book down. Loved the way it flowed from chapter to chapter.

Even tough I thought it was written for a younger audience, I soon realized

this was NOT the case. Now I am onto the next book in the series. My husband

is also reading the books. I would recommend these books to people of all

ages.

This 2nd book to the Montmorency Series, caught me in its enthralling tale. i had completely fallen in love with the first, and so took up the second like a dieing man. not only was it a good read, but it taught you something as well. the addiction Montmorency suffered was a pinpoint in the story, causing you to think. i thought this book was best for teens like me. with all of the addictions and other things crawling about in this world, it is hard to completely avoid them all. most books i find dont focus in on this horror, leaving it to the parents and teachers to go on about. yet often young adults really do learn best from the novels we read. to see Montmorency go through this torture, and yet eventually have victory over it, brings hope into our lives. for those who have already surcomed to these things, they know what he is going through, while others who feel that temptation, and yet have resisted, can resist even harder. if you are a normal average teen, then you feel those things pulling you too. this story is not only well written, a good thriller, and an enjoying read, but it teaches you the importance of friends in getting over addictions. read it and Enjoy!

I thorougly enjoyed this book, its characters and its historical background. Although it's written for young adults and I am 76, the plot kept me fascinated throughout the book.