“Drake’s Bay” by T.A. Roberts
Reviewed by Jenna A.
Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world in search of new lands for England. In essence, he was Queen Elizabeth’s own private pirate. When a man in California Bay discovers the plate that once claimed Drake’s Bay for England, conspiracy ensues. However, the Ballentines, the family that has this allegedly real artifact knows that nothing can validate this discovery except the lost log books of Drake himself.
T.A. Roberts bring history to life when Ethan Storey, a history professor, and his girlfriend Kay, a property attorney, get in the middle of a feud between the Willems and the Ballestines, long standing rivals since Nazi Germany. The plot starts its upward battle when Ethan is hired to archive the Willems library and Kay is hired by the Ballestine’s to find the lost log books.
Ethan quickly realizes he must find Drake’s log books and uncover the truth before everything he knows and loves is destroyed. Filled with plot twists, multple climactic scenes, love, betrayl, murder and a heavy doses of history, Drake’s Bay is a story that leaves the reader wanting more.
Roberts writes as if he, himself was taking part in the story. Strong visuals and intelligent language abound, and the author shows his knowledge with well written historical monologues and expertly dialouged conversations. Drake’s Bay is a novel that shows that sometimes getting more then you bargained for can be a very, very good thing. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who has a passion for well written literature.
Jenna lives in a small town in Ohio with her fiance and cat Osiris. Along with her passion for reading and the literary world, she is also a painter, poet, fiction writer, and amateur photographer.
This book was provided free of any obligation by Permanent Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Historical, Literature & Fiction
I don’t know much about Sir Walter Raleigh except what is common knowledge. This book sounds like a fascinating, I love both history fiction and mysteries. So this one is a great candidate for my library list.
Carol Wong
[...] Drake’s Bay by T. A. Roberts [...]
Thanks for this review-I was not familiar with this story-onto my wish list it goes.
Your welcome once again.
Definitely a must read. Out of the books ive yet reviewed this is far my favorite thus far.
Steve first thanks for the additional information you provided on the author, your comments and insights are always great to read as well as the reviews here. I really like the image on the cover of the book, and the mystery along with the historical aspect makes this sound like a very intriquing read. Will have to keep an eye out for it at my library.
Your review was so good I just requested this from the library. I like mysteries especially with an artifact plot, a la Indiana Jones or American Treasure. Thanks for the recommendation
Your welcome. Im glad I inspired you. Let me know what you think. I definitely recommend this book.
Thank you for the information, Steve, you always give such excellent background information on the authors! I am not sure if this is a book I would enjoy or not. I love historical fiction but this might have a little too much “mystery hunt” for me. Like Steve I will have to check it out at the bookstore next time I am there. Wonderful review though, thank you!
I expected less when I picked this book for review; however, doing my homework and reading about T.A. himself turned me onto the idea. Like I said, I expected less and got so much more. It seems like a giant mystery hunt, when it is more conspiracy and also, there is alot of fiction and also you gain knowledge into boats, since the main character lives aboard one.
Tom (T.A.) Roberts has a very colorful background that you may find interesting. He is a Harvard graduate in cultural anthropology and near eastern languages, in which pursuit he lived in North African villages and on the coast of Arabia in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Roberts was drafted into the Vietnam-era Army, he served as an Arabic linguist in the military intelligence establishment. He then earned a Master’s degree in Wildlife Biology at the University of Massachusetts. He then joined the U.S. Forest Service in 1978, he spent the next ten years fighting wildfires, counting deer and leading the life of a ranger, on horseback. One more thing that you may find interesting is that he was a finalist in prestigious Edgar Award on two different occasions in 1972 and 1989.
For those of you not familiar with the Edgar award it is named after none other than Edgar Allan Poe and is presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. This award is the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theatre.
I found this review of “Drake’s bay fascinating. I wonder what prompted him to write this novel. I tried to find out why but did not succeed in the answer to this question. I have made a note to look at this book the next time I go to the book store. Thanks for your tantalizing review.
You are definitely correct, he has an amazing background, that I found astonishing when I read this book. I definitely did my research. He’s very talented as a writer, and I loved this book. I really enjoy when a book is thouroughly enjoyable as well as intelligent.