Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key

Book Review: Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key
Rating: ★ ★ ★
Synopsis: It's 1672 in Port Royal, Jamaica. John James, London bricklayer's apprentice turned pirate, is returning from the sack of Panama with his share of the loot (a lousy 200 pieces of eight) and a resolve to go back to bricklaying, since piracy pays so badly. First, though, he has a duty: he must deliver a letter to a lady. The letter is from his dead comrade, Sir Thomas Blackstone, who was a court intriguer on a mission for Prince Rupert of the Rhine. The letter's recipient is Clarissa Waverly, Blackstone's mistress and accomplice. Before he went off to Panama, Blackstone hid four thousand pounds of the prince's money, unwilling to trust his lady friend not to make off with it in his absence. Dying of battle wounds, he wrote to let her know where he'd concealed the money.
Thoughts: While initially unremarkable, this brief read eventually piqued my interest after a quarter of the way through. I encountered no spelling or grammatical errors in my copy. The characters, though relatable and mostly likable, felt somewhat cliché with a lack of a compelling character arc. The world-building was solid, but the introduction of magic/paranormal elements seemed forced and disconnected from the story until later on. Despite a satisfactory conclusion to the story arc, it lacks the gripping hook to captivate most readers. It serves as a decent, easy-to-read option for passing the time, but falls short of delivering an emotionally gripping masterpiece.