Amber Quill, 2003, 230 pp.
ISBN: 1592798748
In Spokane, Washington Boothenay Irons is a chip off the old block as like her father she is a talented modern-day gunsmith. However, sometimes when she touches an old weapon she goes back to the time of the gun residing in the body of someone from that era.
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Caleb Deane visits the Irons family with an 1810 blunderbuss. He and Boothenay touch the gun at the same time and the twosome are transported back to 1811. Boothenay lands inside Lady Annabelle Winthrop while Caleb becomes military Captain Ethan Delaney. Both host bodies service English Queen Charlotte at a time when the British impress Americans to work on their ships. One victim is the Queen's illegitimate grandson, Jonathan Harriman, whom she wants freed. The Queen expects her loyal twosome to rescue Jonathan and dispatch him back to the States. As the transported pair work to accomplish the Queen's bidding, Caleb has no idea that he is from the future while Boothenay knows who she and he are.
THE GUNSMITH: IN THE SERVICE OF THE QUEEN is an exciting time travel thriller that hooks the audience once Caleb meets Boothenay. The story line starts more like vignettes so that the audience can learn how Boothenay's magic works. Boothenay, the glue of the novel, is a terrific person whose inner modern day feminism is brought to her host bodies. The bewildered Caleb is her ideal counterpart. However what makes the tale once the heroine arrives in 1811 are the little irritating inconveniences of no microwave, horrendous bathroom facilities, and an olfactory nightmare that will leave readers desiring more stories starring this intrepid Gunsmith.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner
