M. L. Tyndall, The Reliance

The Reliance

M. L. Tyndall

Barbour, Jan 2007, $9.97

ISBN: 1597893609

In 1668 in the Caribbean, former pirate Captain Edmund Merrick continues to spread the word of the Lord amongst his former associates. However, he has also found happiness with Lady Charlisse who he and his crew saved three years ago and has since married using Porto Bello, Panama as his current base of redemption operation. When the fort is attacked by an unknown enemy, Merrick goes out to learn what is happening, leaving Charlisse with their host Don Diego de Acala for her safety though she objects. However Don Diego's hacienda is attacked; when Merrick returns he thinks his beloved died and blames himself because he chose duty to the King and "abandoned" her.

Unbeknownst to the grieving, guilt-racked ex-pirate is the fact that his high seas enemy Captain Kent Carlton and the crew of the Vanquisher abducted her. Feeling God let him down and refusing to behave like a sparrow, the hawkish Merrick denounces his born again credo with a plan to revenge the death of his beloved by killing Carlton and his crew even if that means going to hell to achieve his objective.

Readers will see how "soft" Edmund's belief in Jesus is when he faces adversity with the "death" of his beloved; thus the audience will wonder whether he can be redeemed regardless of whether he saves Charlisse or not. The action-packed storyline is fast-paced but carries a terrific inspirational message on REDEMPTION. Though readers would be better off first perusing the Legacy of the King's Pirates book 1, THE REDEMPTION as there are several major references to those earlier events, Mary Lou Tyndall provides a great high seas Christian romantic suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner