The Smugglers of Deal — Michael Aye

A new series from the author of The Fighting Anthonys, set in 1790s England, just before war breaks out with France. In the years leading up to the England's war with Napoleon, Cole Buckley lived a charmed life. Raised as a brother to the Earl of Belcastle's children, he lived with his family in the manor house. At seventeen, desires for the opposite sex get Cole and his brother in trouble. The Earl sets both their futures in motion, as Phillip becomes a midshipman and Cole, a junior Army officer. But Cole's father wants him to know what it is like to work, to understand the struggles of the common man until his commission becomes effective. Cole is sent to Deal to work in his uncle's tavern. In Deal, Cole becomes a trusted friend to a known smuggler, where he learns the free trade. He finds himself in the arms of a lovely widow and the heart of a beautiful girl. He sees one of the tavern's girls murdered. His friend is shot and an attempt on his family is made by the murderer. Cole rides with reckless abandonment through Customs raids and owler's landings to apprehend the assassin.