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A review by jackiehorne
Contraband Hearts by Alex Beecroft
3.0
Peregrine Dean, a black man, is sent to late 18th century Porthkennack by his white patron to root out corruption in the local customs office. But his mission is immediately diverted by the local magistrate, who wishes him to investigate a smuggler with the same last name as his own. And that mission gets diverted not just by Perry's attraction to said smuggler, but also by his discovery of a wrecker (a person who deliberately entices ships to wreck on unseen coastal rocks in order to rake in the cargo) at work in the area.
There's a lot of time spent on details of sailing/smuggling/customs house stuff, which doesn't give Beecroft enough room either to develop the romance romance or to craft a tense plot. There's far too many "oh, Perry's getting hit on the head again/captured again" scenes, and not enough building up of tension about whether Perry should or shouldn't trust Tomas, the smuggler.
Still, fascinating stuff about the challenges faced by a well-educated black man in late 18th century England, especially one with ambition and white patronage.
There's a lot of time spent on details of sailing/smuggling/customs house stuff, which doesn't give Beecroft enough room either to develop the romance romance or to craft a tense plot. There's far too many "oh, Perry's getting hit on the head again/captured again" scenes, and not enough building up of tension about whether Perry should or shouldn't trust Tomas, the smuggler.
Still, fascinating stuff about the challenges faced by a well-educated black man in late 18th century England, especially one with ambition and white patronage.