Pieces of eight by Steve Goble

 

Name of Book: Pieces of Eight

Author: Steve Goble

ISBN: 978-1-64506-036-9

Publisher: Seventh Street Books

Part of a Series: Spider John Mysteries 

Type of book: 1723, Nantucket, mystery, attack, pirates, background, settling, mysterious map, picking up life, friendship 

Year it was published: 2021

Summary:

1723—Spider John is almost home, free of the horrors of the pirate life, free of the violence, free of the death. The wife and baby he left behind almost a decade ago are almost within reach.

But then a murder aboard Minuet uncovers a deeper conspiracy, and soon Spider and his friends—curmudgeonly Odin, swashbuckling young Hob and alluring Ruth Copper— find themselves in the midst of flintlock smoke and bloodshed.

The violence follows Spider ashore to Nantucket, where the loving reception he’d dreamed of turns out to be something utterly unexpected. Soon, Spider is running for his life and confronting cutthroats and thieves — while hiding from islanders who think he left a man dead on a widow’s front step.

The solution? Find the killer. The consequences? Those could change Spider John’s life forever.

Characters:

Main characters include Spider John, a man who was forced to become pirate ( details are given,) and who had to leave his beloved wife and son behind. Spider John is a talented carpenter and often observes and notices a lot of details that have served him well in solving mysteries. He does have a dark side when it comes to drinking and violence, but he is trying to do better. He is the leader of his group of former pirates. Odin is a much older man and disfigured, but he trusts and is loyal to Spider John, and is also experienced with knots or distorting his own identity as well as fighting. ( Spider John has no idea if Odin is from Ireland or Wales or Scotland or elsewhere from Europe.) Hobb is the youngest and is still drawn to a pirates life rather than living on land. He is handsome and often sees himself as a ladies man. Ruth Cooper is a former pirate and often uses her sex and gender identity to help Spider John out. She is sharp, observant and can take care of herself. 

Theme:

One needs friends to help solve problems 

Plot:

Story is in third person narrative from Spider Johns point of view. One should definitely read the previous book, A BOTTLE OF RUM, in order to meet the newest member of Spider John's entourage, Ruth Cooper who seems as if she belongs with the group. Normally when a new member joins in into a familiar group, there is always awkwardness and uncertainty, but I am happy to report that it feels very natural for Ruth to belong and to help Spider John solve the mysteries. And yes, I definitely can't wait for the next Spider John book to come out. 

Author Information:

(From the book)

Steve Goble is the author of The Bloody Black Flag and The Devil's Wind, the first two Spider John mysteries. A former journalist, Goble now works for a cybesecurity and digital investigations firm. He lives in rural Ohio

Opinion:

For as long as I have known Spider John, ( since 2019 actually when I first read and reviewed the first two Spider John mysteries,) he has always wanted to go back home to his beloved wife, Em, and his ten year old son, Johnny Jr. At long last he begins to return back home to Nantucket, where he was forced to abandon Em and his son, but then a mystery that's brushed off as either suicide or an accident rears its head, not willing to let Spider John go just yet.  As usual, this was a fantastic tale of pirate lore, mysteries and a who done it and why. Unlike the previous mysteries, to my knowledge, PIECES OF EIGHT dealt with two mysteries, that of a certain map Hob discovered, and an unexpected attack. 

This was given for a review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)