What do you get when you mix one part Harrison Ford's charisma (think Raiders of the Lost Ark) and one part John Hannah's humor (think The Mummy), add a dash of the suspense and intrigue á la Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes? You get a rollicking romp of a story in Alec Marsh's debut Drabble and Harris thriller, Rule Britannia. The story is a whirlwind of action and adventure from the outset to the very end of this mystery that unravels with an ever quickening pace. There is a little something for everyone including a touch of romance, alchemical machinations and a lengthy and charged chase cross country (by way of a sporty Alvis motorcar). What's not to love?
As I was reading the story I was seeing it all play out as one of those old B&W Saturday matinee movies where you just let yourself go and allow the excitement to wash over you. This is a story that has at its center, very curiously indeed, a head. A head that at one time belonged to Oliver Cromwell, which has resurfaced and will cause more than a few people a few problems and a few more rather serious injuries. It isn't just what the head stands for that has both the British government, in particular Winston Churchill, as well as the pro-Fascist faction clamoring for possession of it. There is a mystery and aura that surrounds the head--can the secrets of that famed brow confer on to others riches and power?
Enter Ernest Drabble. Scholar and historian and formerly a mountain climber of some renown, Ernest unwittingly sets off on a simple task of retrieving the head for purely academic purposes, but finds himself getting involved in murderous intrigue. Harris, his best friend, offers some comic relief all the while being manhandled, mangled, bashed and generally the object all sorts of other ignominious physical indignities by way of being the man closest to Drabble. Drabble's enemies prod Harris for information, and for his efforts he'll receive a knighthood, but it is an at times cringeworthy way to get it. Poor Harris, I could only feel, while Drabble got a few tender moments with the lovely Miss Honeyand as well as a few bruises and wounds of his own.
It begins on a train journey to the home of Professor Wilkinson who has the coveted head. Drabble sets off on his task a cheerful fellow but barely a few hours into his journey he is attacked. What do you do when you become entangled in an assault that results in the death of a man? If you are Ernest Drabble you might have to push him out a window. He is soon to learn that it isn't just the police that are looking for him. He's met with a murdered Wilkinson and a rifle aimed straight at him when he arrives at his destination. Miss Kate Honeyand is a force to be reckoned with until she realizes they are on the same side. It's nonstop from there once a group of nefarious Fascists set their sites on the head and anyone who stands in their way of it.
Some stories work best when a dose of willing suspension of disbelief is applied, and I admit this is one that will be enjoyed all the more when approached as a charming, if deadly, entertainment. Drabble and Harris are entirely likable fellows who get mixed up in suspenseful situations. I only wonder how their next adventure can possibly top this one?
Many thanks to the folks at Midas Public Relations and Accent Press for sending this book my way and introducing me to the two newest heroes in the sleuthing and adventure game. What will they get mixed up in next?