A stage actor, novelist and playwright, Humphreys (The French Executioner
) examines the American Revolution through the eyes of the inestimable Capt. Jack Absolute, an 18th-century 007 lifted from Richard Sheridan's play The Rivals
, who has a "talent for trouble," a rogue's way with women and more lives than a cat. Although he expresses sympathy for the rebels' cause, Jack agrees under duress to serve as Gen. John Burgoyne's chief spy in America. As Burgoyne launches a campaign to capture Albany, N.Y. ("the heart of the country"), Jack and his Mohawk blood brother, Até, are dispatched to root out spies working for the Illuminati, a secret lodge within the Freemasons who hope to establish a utopia in the colonies. Jack hooks up with Louisa Reardon, a beautiful Loyalist traveling with Burgoyne's army, but they are captured and separated. Escaping his captors, Jack rushes back to join Burgoyne, but arrives too late to help prevent a humiliating British defeat. A dejected Burgoyne dispatches Jack to Philadelphia to warn British commanders of the hidden threat. There is more than one surprise in Philadelphia awaiting Jack and readers. Humphreys combines historical detail, a larger-than-life hero, clever plotting and fast pacing to craft a thoroughly entertaining historical adventure. (Oct.)
