Blood Diamond: A Pirate Devlin Novel - Softcover

Very well researched * Historical Novels Review * a swashbuckling 18th Century adventure . . . sure to delight both fans of Sharpe and Hornblower * Peterborough Evening Telegraph * Devlin is an anti-hero to savour . . . fearless and flawed, ruthless and roguish but with all the endearing honour that traditionally flourishes among fictional thieves. * Lancashire Evening Post * Keating's latest novel continues his insight into the pirate life with technical seafaring detail, bloody sea battles, treasure hunts and exotic settings. High adventure does not get much better than this. * Sunday Canberra Times * A superbly imagined, vividly written debut. Devlin is set to become the Sharpe of the high seas. * Saul David, author of Zulu Hart * THE PIRATE DEVLIN is top quality historical fiction. Mark Keating knows his period inside-out and his stylish prose and devilish plot fold it into a gripping read. This is the start of something big. * Harry Sidebottom, author of Warrior of Rome *

The break-out novel in possibly the best historical series since Sharpe. The most feared pirate of the day is not usually found among Princes and Ministers of State. But desperate men will go to any lengths to save themselves. London 1720: a fever of financial speculation. The fraudulent South Sea Company is about to come crashing down with not just the government which backed it but the King as well. The directors need something to show that the Company is not just a bubble - that it can find the riches their investors were promised: something like the world-famous Pitt Diamond now in the possession of the French Prince Regent. But how can the Company recover the diamond? They need the most daring criminal they can find. They need a pirate, like Patrick Devlin. But will he take the job? From the splendour of London's royal palaces to the filth of Newgate jail, from the salons of the Louvre to desperate hand-to-hand fighting on deck, BLOOD DIAMOND is a thrilling adventure and a sweeping portrait of an age of speculation and wonder.