The Armada Boy by Kate Ellis

The Armada Boy by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

When archaeologist Neil Watson finds the body of an American veteran of the D-Day landings in the ruins of an old chapel, he turns to his old friend DS Wesley Peterson for help.

Both men are researching an invading force: Wesley, a group of American veterans on a sentimental journey to their wartime base; and Neil, a group of Spaniards killed by outraged locals as they limped from the wreckage of the Armada.

Four hundred years apart, two strangers in a strange land have died violently. Could the same motives of hatred, jealousy and revenge be at work? Wesley is running out of time to find out . . .

DS Wesley Peterson is settling well into Devon. He and his wife are ecstatic to finally be pregnant with their much longed-for new baby and they both are enjoying their work. When Wesley’s old archaeologist friend uncovers a dead body at the site of his next dig – a Veteran’s D Day landing, they begin to uncover a number of secrets possibly better left in the past.

This is the second book in the DS Peterson series, and I found it quite enjoyable. While there isn’t as much of a focus on the archaeology aspect to the plot as I would have liked, this was still a strongly written, well-paced and interesting British police procedural mystery book. I thought the characters were varied enough and well written enough they kept my attention and didn’t get too mixed up.

Readers looking for a strongly historical story might find this doesn’t quite fit the bill for them, but I do think readers looking for a slightly different mystery series – one strongly focused on the police aspect of solving the crime and a slower, more realistic country setting style of pacing – should find this as enjoyable as I did. I did enjoy the way the author handled the World War 2 connections and found them to be both sensitively written but also intriguing enough to maintain my attention. And while the plot wasn’t overly convoluted, it did keep me guessing well into the story.

A strong and interesting mystery novel, this is a good book and a series I plan to continue reading.