On the Warpath [Hardcover]

Gerald Hammond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

A feisty veteran heroine faces one final battle Helen has always been a fighter. In the chaos of occupied France, she survived marauding German soldiers, the dangers of fighting for the Resistance and finally repatriation to Britain. In a stark post-war economy, she managed to carve out a career in journalism, rising to the heights of success. And when her divorced son left her holding the baby, it seemed like nothing she couldn?t handle. After a long and successful life, at eighty she is making attempts to subdue her energy and settle down to retirement. But when a con artist fixes on her beloved grandson David, then retirement will have to wait. Instead, it is the beginning of a journey into France, her old battlegrounds, and a quest for retribution. For Helen Mercier is no sweet little old lady. She has fought for justice before, and if the criminal thinks he can get away with insulting her and hers, he has a surprise coming to him . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Octogenarian Helen Mercier has led a dangerous, exciting life, serving with the French Resistance and then becoming a globetrotting journalist covering war zones, riots, and disasters. Even after she retires to England, her life doesn't settle down. When her grandson, David, becomes the victim of a con artist who steals an antique Jaguar automobile that David has restored, Helen vows to find the crook and get David's car back. To do so, she must travel to France, where she finds herself forced to employ some of the darker skills she learned during her Resistance days. Despite a far-fetched and sometimes silly plot, the novel works because Helen is such a captivating heroine. Avoid fans of traditional thrillers for this one, but see that it gets in the hands of those who like to mix the charm of women's fiction with the derring-do of the suspense genre. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

John Skelton was an ordained priest and rector. He was poet laureate at the University of Oxford and Cambridge University, a court poet for King Henry VII, and a tutor to King Henry VIII. Gerald Hammond is a professor of English at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Fleeting Things and The Making of the English Bible, and the editor of Selected Poems: Richard Lovelace.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727863665
• ISBN-13: 978-0727863669
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,665,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When You've Got a Problem and No One Else Can Help, Call on Super Gran!, June 9, 2006

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: On the Warpath (Hardcover)

Most people's grandmas are sweet and kind old ladies but defenceless and vulnerable. Not so Helen Mercier, a legend of the French Resistance in World War II. She knew where to place the knife in a German soldier rapist, after the war she became an excellent journalist, reporting from the world's trouble spots and gaining interviews with dictators and terrorist leaders that no one else could, she even partook in the ending of the lives of some people who deserved it. Now retired she has put the continent behind her and is content to live out her days in England. That is until her dim witted grandson is conned out of his expensive car and all his money then ends up in hospital after chasing the thief. Helen knows what she had to do. She will return to Europe for one last time, track down the con artist and bring justice to her grandson.

Hammond novels vary substantially in quality but this one doesn't disappoint. If you enjoy Hammond also check out British authors James Pattinson (that's Pattinson not Patterson) and Christopher Nicole who write in a similar style. Other high quality Hammond novels worth checking out are A Running Jump and The Snatch.