This book is a triumph. The first couple of chapters took me a while to get into, but from chapter three onwards I was completely hooked, desperate to know what happens next. Ruth is a wonderful main character. In some ways there is nothing extraordinary about her character, someone who is just dealing with each problem as it comes, but the fact that she does so with such strength and without sacrificing who she is makes her remarkable. You can’t help but feel for her; the things she is put through could happen to anyone in that era, but she is sharp, creative, and scientifically- minded, always one step ahead of the game.

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All of the characters and the setting are painted so vividly, you are transported into the story. It’s gruesome at times – the author never shies away from the harsh realities of warfare and early colonial life – but it never feels gratuitous, just a part of life and the violence these characters experience.

I thought the author did a fantastic job of depicting the different relationships and tensions between the English, the French, the indigenous Pequot people, and the highwaymen and sailors who exist outside of these communities. She has also done a huge amount of research into the Pequot language which is to huge benefit. When the characters are speaking to each other in a mixture of English, French and Pequot, it reads completely naturally, but that is thanks to a huge amount of research.

This is a wonderful work of historical fiction, shining light on an often romanticised period of history while centring the very human stories that were lived by everyday people.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.