From Haven to Hell
Tales of the Captain Duke, Book #2
By Rebecca Diem
ISBN: 9780993887420
Author’s Website: rebeccadiem(.)com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
Welcome to the Haven…
The adventure continues as the Captain Duke and his band of airship pirates return to their hideout to uncover the traitor in their midst. Now that Clara has joined his crew, she must decide whether to trust her new friends before the secrets of her past are used to tear the pilots apart. (Goodreads)
Review:
I have read From Haven to Hell for a second time in anticipation of having the author attend our book club meeting to discuss her series, Tales of the Captain Duke. I must say that reading the series (and this book in particular) for a second time has really made me appreciate Diem’s storytelling abilities even more.
From Haven to Hell carries on from where book one, The Stowaway Debutante, left off. Clara is now living life as a piratess (an heiress piratess to be exact) and loving it. There is trouble brewing when “a simple raid had turned into a perilous standoff between the Captain Duke’s pilots and a full complement of Tradist soldiers.” Now there seems to be a traitor amongst the crew. Captain Duke must ferret out the traitor and deal with them as soon as possible, in the hopes of maintaining some control over his crew.
The tale of this betrayal and what subsequently transpires is told with such aplomb that this reader was totally engrossed in the story. So much so that when the end came, I carried right on with the third book (A Gentleman and a Scholar) in the series! The level of violence in this book was higher than in book one, but that is to be expected when dealing with betrayal among pirates.
Ms. Diem provides the reader with more depth to the characters, though I must say that Captain Duke still remains a bit of a conundrum. We were provided with a bit more history, but I can tell there is more to this pirate than meets the eye. Can’t wait to learn more about him… or other crew members for that matter.
Cat and Mouse were again, a delight in this tale. Their maturity as well as their childlike behaviour provided for interesting events. We also got to see a different side of Ness.
Given that I want to leave other readers the joy of discovering the story within the pages of From Haven to Hell, I shall finish off by saying…bravo Rebecca Diem. I cannot wait to read more of this series that you so clearly love to write about. Thank you!
