On Dark Shores: The Lady by J.A. Clement
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Copeland had already taken eleven years of her life, and there was no getting that back; but Nereia was damned if she’d let him have her sister.”
Change is stirring in Scarlock…
For the last eleven years, Nereia has been Copeland’s thief, stealing trinkets for him instead of going to work in the whorehouse, to protect her younger sister, Mary, from his clutches. But Copeland’s reach in Scarlock is far and his ambitions are vast. Bent on getting Nereia to take on a new thieving scheme, Copeland leans on the chink in Nereia’s armor – Mary. Now they must run or go along with his plan. And no one has ever escaped before…
Blakey’s career as a boxer is over. He finds himself fighting a new type of opponent – whores and shopkeepers and anyone else who owes Copeland. But something changes the night he goes after Nereia and Mary. And he’s not the only one interested in the girls’ escape.
Beautifully written, with flowing prose and vivid descriptions, On Dark Shores: The Lady sets up the dynamic of the town of Scarlock and its inhabitants. While the Mother of Shantari doesn’t really appear in this book, the reader is left with the expectation of finding out her role in later books in the series. The complexity of the characters is slowly revealed, as shown best by Blakey.
While there is no real closure, the plot and character lines are masterfully woven, setting up what is sure to be an excellent series. Dark and mysterious, with a touch of fantasy added to the mix, On Dark Shores leaves the reader wanting more, and not simply because it is short.
Musings of a Writing Reader 