First published 2004
Eddie Bosham writes his memoirs from a prison cell, facing murder charges he claims are false. The part-English spy possesses damning evidence of a royal scandal powerful enough to destroy the monarchy. His story picks up after his rescue from the Galapagos Islands, where he was stranded with young Charles Darwin. Landing in Acapulco, Bosham travels north to Texas during its revolutionary period. True to his opportunistic nature, he switches allegiances as circumstances demand. He gathers intelligence for General Santa Ana during the siege of the Alamo, then shifts loyalty to serve Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto. Continuing his westward journey, Bosham discovers the secret that will trigger the famous California Gold Rush. Through his adventures across the American frontier, this unreliable narrator weaves together real historical events with his own survival instincts and flexible morals.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, 19th-century, alternate-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Acapulco, Alamo, California, Galapagos Islands, Texas
Period: 19th-century
Hardcover · London : Little, Brown