The Sugar Sands by Lyle Garford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Cashiered from the Royal Navy after being found guilty of trumped-up charges of thievery, Owen Spence vows that one day there will be a reckoning with his accuser, a member of the same family that ruined his father. Until then, he must find a new path in life, preferably one involving the sea. A beautiful innkeeper, with whom Owen has an affair, helps in this endeavor, and he soon commands a sloop ferrying cargo and passengers for a plantation. The brutal treatment of the slaves disturbs him, but he is in no position to intervene and desperately needs money to survive. The monotony of his work has him wishing for another job – a real possibility when he happens upon his uncle, whom he hasn’t seen in years.

Alan Giles runs a successful trading company and is seeking a new captain for one of his vessels because he wants to spend time with his family on Barbados. Happening upon his nephew is pure luck, but the more they become reacquainted, the more Alan believes that Owen might be just the man to replace him. And not just in commanding the ship. With his naval training and sea experience, Owen could also surreptitiously gather information for the Foreign Office. After all, Alan’s trading ventures extend from Boston to Porto Bello, and the news he has acquired leads himself and spymaster Sir James Standish to believe that war is in the offing. Should that happen, it would be devastating to the West Indies where more sugarcane is produced than foodstuffs.

This first title in the Owen Spence trilogy takes place between 1772 and 1775, but the series will cover the entire span of the American Revolution. The opening scenes involving Owen and the Royal Navy are quite visual and easily capture the reader’s attention. Once he’s dismissed, the novel serves to set the stage for the forthcoming books. There is some action, as well as an additional romantic angle – both draw readers into the story and make them care about the characters – but the majority of the book involves gathering information and run-ins with a shadowy French ship with an American first mate, who is related to the same radical family that drove Owen’s first mate out of Virginia. This setup promises that when the final confrontation comes between Owen and his crew versus the Frenchmen, more than sparks will ignite. Equally propitious is the expected comeuppance of the family that destroys Owen’s naval career.

Much of the story consists of dialogue, but where action, such as the raid on Bermuda or the confrontation in a Boston tavern where rebels meet, takes center stage Garford keeps the reader riveted. What makes The Sugar Sands different from other stories of the Revolutionary War is its perspective. It unfolds from a Caribbean colonial viewpoint, one rarely covered in works of either fiction or nonfiction. Garford also ably demonstrates how the laws and tariffs that England institutes set the colonists on a war footing. The story is more land-based than sea-based, but incorporates thought-provoking topics – slavery, taxation, conflicting loyalties – that remain relevant today.




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