Pirates and Privateers
The History of Maritime Piracy

Cindy Vallar, Editor & Reviewer
P.O. Box 425, Keller, TX  76244-0425

---

With her mother’s death, Lady Charlisse Bristol endures years of abuse at the hands of her uncle, a person of some note in the Anglican Church. His teachings and “instruction” destroy her faith in God, for how could He ever love someone as bad as her? Only one person might offer her the love she searches for – her father, a man she’s never met. She knows him only through conversations with her mother, but he offers Charlisse hope. Determined to find him, she books passage on a vessel bound for Jamaica. A vicious storm impedes her journey. She is the only one who survives, but life on a deserted island isn’t as appealing as one might expect. After months of loneliness, bitten by bugs, and living in filth, she waits to die.

Edmund Merrick has one goal in life – to bring Edward the Terrible, the worst of all pirates, to justice. Edmund once served as Edward’s second in command, but a drunken visit to a church, where he repented his sins and sought redemption through Christ, brought Edmund from the brink of despair. Before he can hunt down Edward, though, he stumbles upon an island where a bedraggled woman, delirious with fever, stumbles into his camp. While he nurses her to health, he realizes he must safeguard her from his men. What he doesn’t expect is to fall in love with Charlisse, and when she reveals why she has come to the Caribbean, Edmund must decide whether love or justice is more important.

The Redemption is a rousing pirate adventure filled with sea battles, chases, arrests, and betrayal. M. L. Tyndall expertly interweaves history with fiction to create a spellbinding tale any lover of pirate romance will enjoy. Although there are a couple of minor historical errors – such as flying the Jolly Roger before it appeared – these in no way detract from the story. The inspirational message never intrudes, and the manner in which various characters find redemption makes for a compelling story. Once you lift the lid on this treasure chest, you will never regret the journey upon which you sail back to the pirate haven of Port Royal in 1665. The Redemption is perfect for a stormy day when the fire crackles in the hearth and you wish only to be stranded on a tropical island with a handsome pirate.

Meet M. L. Tyndall
Read an excerpt of The Redemption

Read my review of The Reliance

Book Review Copyright ©2006 Cindy Vallar

---

The Reliance
The Reliance
by M. L. Tyndall
Barbour, 2006
ISBN 978-1-59789-360-2, $9.97

Marriage agrees with Edmund Merrick, and he thanks the Lord every day for bringing Charlisse into his life. No longer a pirate, he now hunts them, and his travels take him to Porto Bello. Life is idyllic, until pirates – led by Henry Morgan – attack the Panamanian city and Merrick and Charlisse must escape the bloody onslaught. They seek refuge in a small Catholic church along with several orphans, but Merrick must go back to help a friend. No sooner does he leave the church than it blows up, killing Charlisse and devastating Merrick. Unable to cope, he drinks himself into oblivion and ventures into the dangerous streets and taverns of Tortuga in search of Morgan, whom he holds responsible for Charlisse’s death. He abandons his faith and makes a pact with the devil – a bloodthirsty, demented pirate named Collier.

Merrick’s loyal companions take his ship and sail for Port Royal, hoping to convince the preacher to come and save Merrick from himself. Instead, they encounter Charlisse – not dead, but held captive by her husband’s arch enemy, Kent – and another captive, Lady Isabel. After a narrow escape, Charlisse – with Isabel in tow – joins her husband’s crew and assumes command. Despite not having everyone’s support, she inflicts severe damage to Kent’s vessel before going in search of her wayward husband. The night she finds him in a tavern in Tortuga, a buxom lady sits on his lap.

Has Charlisse lost Merrick forever? How can he break his pact with the devil and cease being a pirate forever? And what of Kent? Will he truly stop hunting Charlisse, especially since Isabel has escaped his clutches? To learn the answers, one must read The Reliance, the sequel to The Redemption. Ms. Tyndall adeptly interweaves history and romance with fiction and religion into a world peopled with nasty pirates, jealous men, and greedy devils. Unlike the first book, here the inspirational message intrudes into the story a few times, but it remains as compelling an adventure as the original. Her depiction of Tortuga and buccaneer raids on Spanish towns is spot on, and readers will find themselves peering around to make certain they’re still safe at home, rather than in the seventeenth century.

Meet M. L. Tyndall
Read an excerpt of The Reliance
 

Book Review Copyright ©2007 Cindy Vallar

Home

Pirate Articles

Pirate Links

Book Reviews

Thistles & Pirates

Click on the Cannon to Contact Me