"Complex historical tale"
In April 1990 from a jail cell on Tahiti, Olivia Wyvern
writes a letter to the daughter she placed for adoption
years ago. Olivia tries to explain what happened that led
to her current "home". Liv's father Jon was a Royal Air
Force pilot who survived Hitler, but vanished during a
Korean War mission leaving behind a grieving family of
three women and Lord Jim the parrot. Though neither the
plane nor his body was found his family always sought news
on Jon. In 1988, while Liv lived in Vancouver and her sister in
London, Lord Jim dies and a few days later, mother passes
away too. The two sisters go through two centuries of
family stuff when Liv finds an 1899 journal written by
Frank Henderson telling his adventures with Queen
Victoria's grandsons Princes Eddy and George. This leads
Liv to come to Tahiti to learn about Jon's disappearance.
Instead she's arrested on phony murder and spy charges.
While lingering in her cell, Liv learns about her own
daughter, a product of a seducer who promised her
information on Jon and never delivered. HENDERSON'S SPEAR is a complex historical tale that never
loses its path while entertaining the audience. Though the
narrator Liv tells the story late in the twentieth century,
she relates her present predicament with the 1899 Henderson
diary and the Korean War vanishing of her father without
either account losing steam. The two subplots tie
brilliantly back together as Ronald Wright proves he has
the right stuff with a forceful twentieth century triumph
that genre fans will appreciate. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted February 3, 2002
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