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In the 19th entry of a long-running series, rifleman Lieutenant Richard Sharpe returns to Portugal in search of a girl. It is the spring of 1809 and Napoleon's army is invading Portugal. Sharpe's mission is to locate the 19-year-old daughter of a prominent Portuguese winemaker. Kate Savage has run away from home for some unexplained reason and with the French threat it is important that they find her. Sharpe's commanding officer tells him to take his men and find the girl. He is also warned to keep an eye on Colonel Henry Christopher, an officer with British Intelligence who apparently has his own agenda. During their search they are attacked by the French and assist a group of Portuguese soldiers in defending their land. Working together they find Kate and are bringing her back. What they are unaware is that Colonel Christopher has a special plan for Kate and he is also playing both sides of the war. He is a traitor working with the French and wants nothing more to have Sharpe and his men killed. He will do anything for money including selling his country. But his plan fails and Sharpe is on to him. The rifleman will not let a weenie pencil pusher get the best of him, especially when he steals his telescope. He did not survive 18 books by sitting back. He is a man of action and that is what readers will get as they listen to this recording. Paul McGann does a good job in narrating this war campaign and keeps the power moving. The book is a bit graphic when it comes to the brutality by the French soldiers against the Portuguese. War is never pretty and Cornwell does nothing to glorify it. First-time readers should not have any problem following this story since it moves straightforwardly within the timeframe inside the novel. SHARPE'S HAVOC is something good and something different that is worth trying out.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, September 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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