Title: The Star We Sail By
Series: Knights of Blackrabbit #2
Author: Glenn Quiglay
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 02/20/2024
Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 77300
Genre: Historical, Cornish Coast, clockpunk, spec fiction, panic disorder, bears, ex-sailors, playhouse, theft, family issues, law enforcement, petty theft, historical, non-explicit, redemption, revenge, tattoos, daddybear
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Description
When young sailor Felix Diamond receives a letter from his estranged uncle begging for help, he returns home to Blackrabbit Island for the first time in ten years. There he discovers his uncle missing and his aunt positioning herself as the new head of the notorious Diamond family. With nowhere else to turn, Felix must enlist the help of former crime lord and current Watch Commander, Vince Knight—a man he trusts less than anyone alive. He’ll also have to contend with his opium-addicted cousin and a handsome apprentice horologist with secrets of his own.
With time running out, Felix must race to uncover the truth behind his uncle’s disappearance while keeping his delinquent family’s claws off his childhood home—the run-down playhouse named The Star We Sail By.
The Star We Sail By
Glenn Quigley © 2024
All Rights Reserved
With raindrops beading on his woollen cap, Felix led Vince and Sorcha to the cemetery behind the Star We Sail By. A piece of land surrounded by a rotting wooden fence, at its core stood a single yew tree. They picked their way among the spherical gravestones. The wealthier the grave’s occupant, the larger the sphere. Family members’ gravestones orbited the older moss-covered orbs of distant ancestors, like little planets around their own sun.
The cemetery stopped a few paces from the edge of a steep, chalk-white cliff and Felix pointed down to some rocks. “There’s an inlet just there,” he said. “No beach, no place to land but you can sail right in.” He kept back, worried the incessant drizzle of the morning had made the grassy verge slippery.
Vince had no such concerns. He marched right to the edge and peered down. “Chancewater,” he said. “Didn’t think anyone was still using it.”
Sorcha rolled her eyes. “Of course you know about it.”
Felix stood behind Vince, behind the vast bulk of him, and wondered what would happen if he were to put his hands on Vince’s back and shove with all his might. In normal circumstances, Felix likely wouldn’t stand a chance of budging him an inch but with the wet grass and the pull of the cliff’s edge…surely they would do most of the work for him? This might be his only chance to rid Port Knot of its ruin.
“Star We Sail By isn’t the only place to use it,” Vince said, snapping Felix from his daydream. “Used to be a few other alehouses connected to those tunnels.”
“Playhouse,” Felix said.
Vince ignored him. “Dangerous. Small. Been a few cave-ins, as I recall.”
“Uncle Gregory used to make me meet smugglers in those tunnels.” The moment had passed, and Vince had walked back a few yards. Felix had missed his chance. “He used to get salt from Brittany, before the customs house got wise to other people using the tunnels. I can’t imagine he’d given up the practice entirely, though where he’s been hiding the goods nowadays, I couldn’t say. The cellar at the Star is crowded enough as it is.”
“Will have to check the tunnels,” Vince said. “Sorcha, first thing tomorrow, get some Watchfolk in there.”
“You think my uncle is down there?” Felix asked. “I suppose he could have had an accident…”
“More likely he’s dead,” Vince said. “Meeting with a supplier turned violent. Seen more than one person meet a sticky end in there.”
Felix exhaled loudly, whistling a little through the gap between his teeth. He shivered, but not from the rainfall. He found Vince’s stilted manner of speech most off-putting. The way he missed the start of every sentence blunted his words so they hit like hammers.
Sorcha shot Vince a look. “Tactful as ever, aul man.” She put her hand on Felix’s arm. “It’s only been a couple of days. We’ll find him. I promise.”
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Glenn Quigley is a graphic designer originally from Dublin and now living in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. He creates bear designs for www.themoodybear.com. He has been interested in writing since he was a child, as essay writing was the one and only thing he was ever any good at in school. When not writing or designing, he enjoys photography and has recently taken up watercolour painting.
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