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There are currently 29 member reviews
for The Montevideo Brief
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Nancy R
Descriptions Better Than the Plot
This book starts out with some good descriptive passages about Beethoven's Third Symphony, French tennis as it originally was, dueling codes at the beginning of the 19th century, the Barbary pirates. Unfortunately, after that the book becomes a fairly typical swashbuckling adventure story complete with pirates, naval battles, explosions, gunfights and secret treaties.
I found the adventure story fairly predictable and not particularly gripping. On the other hand, the book is fairly short and good for a quick read without much substance.
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Samantha H. (Golden, CO)
A Lackluster Adventure
To begin with I should confess that I have not read the first two books in the series. I do like a good seafaring adventure, but "The Montevideo Brief" fell short. The plot was slow to develop, the prose was stilted, and the characters were shallow and uninteresting.
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Michael B. (Pittsburgh, PA)
Disappointing
1951 was the year(10th grade!) I fell in love with European history. Accordingly this fictional account of an important turn in American naval history let me down.
From Grey's unlikely awareness of other contemporary German composers, to uses of words like (Coachee) to Grey's casting aside his pal, O"Bannon, to the misshapen sentence, (p.152) "There's a fleet of ships that will deliver an enormous sum of treasure assembling here at the Plate, to Spain, before the end of the year", I was disappointed; especially as I had just finished reading great historical fiction by Ken Follett.
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Marganna K. (Edmonds, WA)
Book 3 of an Adventurous Series
When I was notified I would receive this book - #3 of Thomas Grey Series - I quickly read the 1st book of this series, Hold Fast. When I read a book as part of a series I prefer to at least have read #1 and I'm very happy I did.
Although it's not necessary to read this series from the start I think it greatly enhanced my experience of Book #3. Starting with book 1 I had a greater understanding of the main character, Thomas Grey, and some very important details that made book 3 much more enriched. Both books were a quick read --
The Montevideo Brief Book 3 tells the story of Thomas Grey's adventures which starts with him attending a Beethoven symphony, Beethoven conducting - Hayden sitting next to Gray, who happens to be an agent of His Majesty's Secret Service. The excitement builds - there's a bribe in exchange for a secret that could change the course of the world... Thomas Grey must intercept a Spanish flotilla carrying treasure to save England.
After the scene in set & the importance of the mission is known, the reader will enjoy many adventures along the way to Montevideo, Uruguay where the Spanish ships will sail from on their way to Cadiz, Spain. There's sword duels, captivity, deadly snakes, help from American navy ...
This is a readable book - moves very quickly; however I wish the author had spent more time developing the characters & the plot and even the location of each adventure. I felt l was reading the abridged version where the most important thing was to get to the next adventure.
I won't read Book 2 nor will I read additional books in this series. Some people will enjoy the descriptions of the various ships & maybe some war terms but it does not hold the depth I enjoy in a book. I do appreciate the historical aspect of the series - there is always something to learn.
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Barry E. (Boynton Beach, FL)
Enjoyed, but
Reading this was a fabulous experience, but the book itself's story was only fair. At first, I could not figure out where this plot was going with the intense description of a Beethoven performance and an interlude with an original game of tennis. But there I was in the middle of a production of a new Beethoven work, as he masterfully guided the orchestra through its presentation. I was there, and could just imagine the sounds from the wonderful description. Haydn was sitting there, maybe even Mozart-but what did this have to do with plot. Next, I was playing tennis with the lead characters, but could not recognize the game-just a pleasure. This was an excellent attempt to set the stage for what was to come, the prelude to build up to the war in the early 1800's between Spain with France against England- supposedly at peace with England. The plot, though entertaining, was meager compared to the described events. A light read done in a few nights, with some likeable characters.
Thank you to BookBrowse and the Norton Publishers for providing an ARC of this book.
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Ann H. (Boulder, CO)
Interesting But Not My Kind of Book
The Montevideo Brief would not be one I would recommend for my book club which consists of ladies interested in current issues. To be fair to the author, descriptions of various adventures of Thomas Grey were colorful and held this reader's attention. Readers who are into history involving pirates and British acquiring treasure ships from other countries would probably like this book.
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Rebecca G. (Havertown, PA)
Fun historical fiction
So after reading about the first twenty pages of this book I wasn't sure I wanted to go on. There's a lot of fluff in those pages and I was worried with such a short book that the fluff would take up a lot of the story. Happily, I didn't have to worry. The book is based on true events; the discovery of a treaty between Spain and France to financially support Napoleon's war against Britain. To do this, Spain intends to secretly bring riches from South America. France has promised that if the gold is not delivered, they will instead declare war on Spain. The plot is discovered by Thomas Grey, a member of His Majesty's Secret Service and it's up to him to get to Montevideo, intercept the ships carrying the gold and keep them from Spain. Along the way, he's captured by pirates, enlists the help and assists American sailors and engages in sea warfare. It's a fun story that kept me entertained but I doubt I'll read more of the adventures of Thomas Grey. He does go off on another assignment to help some of his new American friends but that will have to wait for a new book!
