A Voice for Independent Authors

“You can kill a book quicker by your silence than by a bad review.”
― E.A. Bucchianeri

REVIEWING TODAY: FRENCHMEN AND LONG KNIVES BY GEOFF BAGGETT

Geoff Baggett’s quickly growing series about patriots of the American Revolution is rapidly becoming an award-worthy and highly popular contribution to historical fiction centered on this crucial moment in world history. Frenchman and Long Knives is the third installment in his series, and the best so far. Concentrating on a theater of war much removed from the east coast colonies, and focusing on the role of French immigrant settlers in the Illinois territory – a destination sought by many but reached only after a long and dangerous, highly arduous boat journey up the Mississippi River, subject to the powerful whims of unpredictable and deadly weather, Indian attacks, and unexpectedly ruthless encounters with an existing British military presence – we follow one family in particular, headed by Pierre Grimard, as they find themselves reluctant but necessary participants in a brutal fight for freedom.

Geoff Baggett’s writing style, as exemplified to perfection in Frenchmen and Long Knives, employs a superior knowledge of historical events, meticulously researched forays into personal ancestry to find his fascinating main characters, an ineffable ability to plot and create dialogue, and a descriptive technique that makes history come vividly alive, all the while engaging the avid reader in a story so compelling, so urgent, and paced so marvelously well that he cannot help but find himself a silent yet willing participant in the breathtaking events as they unfold. This third book in a thankfully continuing series matches the earlier books for unerring quality, but exceeds their proven ability to induce an adrenalin rush of heart-pounding, breathless anticipation in the reader for what comes next. Geoff Baggett has outdone himself with this one.