Alan Lewrie is at it again. This really is a bridge book, now showing us what happens every single year seems to be how Lambdin is writing these novels. Here we have reached the Peace of Amiens, and you will recall that during the siege of Toulon, so long ago in this series, we had met Bonaparte, well guess who's coming to dinner.

Through a trivial plot device whilst the Peace lasts, somehow we are talked into a journey to the continent and Ram Cat Lewrie through no fault of his own (much like Flashman would) not only meets the many important people, but also finds himself in hot water not of his making. Here the league of the Scarlet Pimpernel, which is an author's device so it is named otherwise, shows up as well.

This book is good for all the Regency/Georgian action we see and absorb. However, it leaves off anything remotely to do with the navy to a very small part of the book, almost an afterthought, and that has become prevalent these last few books. 80% not having to do with the Age of Sail despite the covers and suggestion that we are vitally concerned with a Post Captain. ( )

The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel returns! which is good, but the book reads more like 4 short stories combined. ( )

There is peace between England and France but for how long? Will it last long enough for a quick second honeymoon for Captain Lewrie and his wife Caroline?

Captain Lewrie goes to France with more on his mind than rekindling romance with his wife; he decides to combine business with pleasure. He uses his visit to offer up captured French swords in exchange for his own captured sword, held by Napoleon himself. However everywhere Lewrie turns he seems to bump into a person from his past- and they all hold grudges and want him dead! Will Captain Lewrie and his wife make it out of France alive?

I got this book not realizing it is part of a series, I was looking for a Royal Navy adventure and was disappointed as 3/4 of this book takes place on land. That being said, I was also unaware of the past experiences of the main character Captain Lewrie however without the background ofthe previous noveld I was still able to follow the storyline. However best bet would be to start at the beginning... ( )

This is the most land locked naval adventure I have ever read. The characters spend more time in carriages than on board ship. The main character is more Flashman than Hornblower and, in fact, the whole novel is very like the Flashman novels: roguish hero, breezy prose style, famous historical & fictional characters turning up. Alan Lewrie is on half pay because of a (temporary) peace with the French and he and his wife decide on a trip to Paris in the hiatus. They get to meet Napoleon and because of a misunderstanding (and some old enemies) the Lewrie’s are on the run for their lives. My main annoyance with the novel was the fact that Lewrie seemed to keep running into old lovers and enemies (sometimes the same people) every time he turned a corner. But it is still a quite enjoyable brown earth/blue water adventure. ( )

The tale opens with Captain Lewrie still in the Baltic and in a very cold and boring sort of limbo with the total lack of action as the Peace of Amiens comes into effect. And there's only losing his ship which is to be sent into ordinary at the end of it. It has been said before that Lewrie can fall into more dangerous scrapes upon land than at sea, so a period of peace, no matter how brief, is worrying. And yet, an idyllic time spent with his family at his house in Anglesgreen through the winter holidays comes as a lovely change of pace (even while wondering WHEN the other shoe will drop). This is all told with some seriousness and little dash, which had me wondering if Lambdin had taken a somber more literary tone for this book. However, things change when the Lewries take a second honeymoon of sorts in Paris of all places! Old enemies and new just come piling out of the woodwork, as well as the never-all-that-helpful English spy-types. And for those who demand actual Naval Adventure in a series so en(sub)titled, there is that, too, with a new ship and crew and some old friends (no obvious old enemies, but that's only a matter of time!).

The sixteenth book in a series is never a perfect place to start, so new readers are directed to the first: THE KING'S COAT, a fantastic read. Readers who have made it this far are either masochists or devoted fans or ??? but should know what to expect by now (or one should think!). I simply adore this series. It's full of lively adventure, great historical details and a main character worthy of following through such an extended series. I can't wait for the next book! ( )