Thanks to Isobel Blackthorn and Henry Roi of Blackthorn Tours for a copy of Death of a Young Lieutenant in exchange for an honest review.
Death of a Young Lieutenant by B. R. Stateham
Genre: Historical Thriller/Adventure
Publisher: Fahrenheit Press
Meet Captain Jake Reynolds – pilot, adventurer, art thief, spy.
In the opening weeks of World War One, and as a member of the newly formed British Royal Flying Corps, Captain Jake Reynolds is shipped off to Belgium.
Roped in by his squadron commander to prove the innocence of a young lieutenant accused of murder, Jake also wants to steal a 14th Century Jan van Eck painting.
The problem is both the evidence and the painting are behind enemy lines.
How do you prove a man’s innocence and steal a masterpiece while an entire German army is breathing down your neck?
My thoughts
This is one heck of a read. We open with an unnamed narrator, a journalist, interviewing an aged Jake Reynolds. The old man invites the journalist to see his collection of rare art: all masterpieces, all stolen. All hidden from the view of others. Only Jake Reynolds gets to enjoy their splendors.
Art theft + murder + historical fiction = Enjoyable story
I enjoy stories about art theft. I enjoy a good mystery. And, of course, I enjoy anything historical, especially the WW I era. Stateham put all this together and gave me an enjoyable story.
There are strange circumstances around the death. For one thing, it involves two men in an airplane crash and an eyewitness who claims they were fighting with each other before the crash.
The survivor, Lt. Oglethrope, is accused of murder. He happens to be the estranged son of a prominent British man. And that father happens to be one of Jake Reynolds’ buyers and to be the reason Jake is in this particular squadron. Sir John wants Jake to keep an eye on his son, who’s a bit hot-headed.
WW I & the history of aviation
It’s 1914. It’s still the beginning of the war, when some new recruits are still naive and optimistic, dreaming of glory in battle. Their leaders are still stuck in the old ways of warfare.
No one dreams that those new-fangled and unreliable airplanes can be used as a weapon. Maybe for reconnaissance missions, but to bomb cities or troops is still unheard of, perhaps even un-thought-of. They have few planes and even fewer pilots. Jake’s the only person with a lot of flying experience in the entire squadron.
Stateham obviously knows the history of aviation. I didn’t expect to enjoy that aspect as much as I did. It’s fascinating.
A superheroic art thief/pilot
Jake is an engaging character. His daring is almost at the superhero level: I’m not sure he ever meets a barrier that he doesn’t tear apart with his own two hands. Sometimes it seems that it’s a bit too easy for him to overcome certain difficulties. But at the same time, it’s fun to see his ingenuity, intelligence, and strength at work. In chapter one, Stateham writes,
“Mediocrity was not in his vocabulary.”
It’s true. The guy soars above his enemies, friends, and frenemies, and not only when he’s flying a plane, either.
It’s also a lot of fun to read about his art theft escapades. He’s a gifted artist, but he uses his gifts to copy old Masters and age the canvases such that experts can’t tell the difference between a Jake Reynolds fake and the original. I told you: mediocrity isn’t his thing! There is nothing the guy can’t talk his way out of or in to, depending on his aim, and he can do it in at least three languages.
Conclusion
The story comes to a rousing conclusion. While I wasn’t completely convinced by the killer’s motivations, he does have a high level of ingenuity in his evil actions. There are also some unexpected twists near the end of the book that both saddened and surprised me.
Overall, this is a good book. Stateham knows how to tell an engaging story. Recommended for those who like historical thrillers.
About B. R. Stateham
B.R. Stateham is a fourteen-year-old boy trapped in a seventy-year-old body. But his enthusiasm and boyish delight in anything mysterious and/or unknown continue.
Writing novels, especially detectives, is just the avenue of escape which keeps the author’s mind sharp and inquisitive. He’s published a ton of short stories in online magazines like Crooked, Darkest Before the Dawn, Abandoned Towers, Pulp Metal Magazine, Suspense Magazine, Spinetingler Magazine, Near to The Knuckle, A Twist of Noir, Angie’s Diary, Power Burn Flash, and Eastern Standard Crime. He writes both detective/mysteries, as well as science-fiction and fantasy.
In 2008 the first book in the series featuring homicide detectives Turner Hahn and Frank Morales came out, called Murderous Passions. Also, in 2008 he self-published a fantasy novel entitled, Roland of the High Crags: Evil Arises.
In 2009 he created a character named Smitty. So far twenty-eight short stories and two novellas have been written about this dark eyed, unusually complex hit man. In 2012 Untreed Reads published book two of the Turner Hahn/Frank Morales series A Taste of Old Revenge. In 2015 NumberThirteen Press published a Smitty novella entitled, A Killing Kiss.
In 2017 a British indie publisher, Endeavour Media, re-issued A Taste of Old Revenge, and soon followed by a second Turner Hahn/Frank Morales novel entitled, There Are No Innocents.
In 2018 Endeavour Media published a third novel of mine, the first in a 1st Century Roman detective series, entitled While the Emperor Slept.
Also in 2018, NumberThirteen Press merged with another famous British indie, Fahrenheit Press. Soon afterwards, Fahrenheit Press re-issued an old novel of mine entitled, Death of a Young Lieutenant.
Now, after all of this apparent success, you would think Fame and Fortune would have sailed into my harbor, making me the delight of the hard-core genre world. Ah but contraire, mon ami! Fame and Fortune are two devious little wraiths who pick and chooses the poor souls they wish to bedevil. I remain in complete anonymity and am just as bereft of fortune as I have always been. And apparently will continue to be for a long time to come.
Contact B. R. Stateham:
B.R. Stateham has a blog called In the Dark Mind of B.R. Stateham
You can also find him on Facebook
Check out other reviews of Death of a Young Lieutenant
Note: Thanks to Blackthorn tours, Henry Roi, Isobel Blackthorn for a copy of Death of a Young Lieutenant in exchange for an honest review.
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