FitzDuncan’s Fortune
The FitzDuncan Series Book 4
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In which no good deed goes unrewarded… or is it, unpunished?
Be careful what you seek, it may be more than you thought
A new client engages Caz to stop his mother from being blackmailed for a minor indiscretion years earlier. Though Caz stops the blackmail, he has no time to liberate a massive stash of gold he finds in the cellar of corrupt judge’s house
Returning to his apartment, he finds the assassin Fenwick waiting for him. Now working for the king, Fenwick takes Caz on a mission to the southern continent and the country of Scaramouche. In the midst of Fenwick’s “business” his target is killed by others and Fenwick and Caz are imprisoned.
After a daring escape, Caz returns to Aquileia just in time for his wedding to the lovely Lucy. Waiting for him is the crown prince, who presents several boons to Caz. One of them, the greatest gift Caz could hope for (other than marrying Lucy), will consume all of Caz and Lucy’s time and attention after the wedding.
When a gift carries with it a back-breaking obligation, is it still a gift?
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Readers’ Favorite
In The FitzDuncan Series Book 4, FitzDuncan’s Fortune by John Spearman, the amazing adventures of Casimir FitzDuncan, the illegitimate son of the Earl of the Eastern March, continue. In less than three months, he is getting married to the beautiful and mysterious Lucy in a double wedding celebration with his aristocratic friends Freddy and Greta, and it promises to be a grand celebration. This does not stop him from taking on a new case, however, to protect the inheritance of Tom Gibson. The king of Aquileia also requests him to go on a treacherous expedition to the Southern Continent with the royal assassin and this has almost caused him to miss his own wedding. An unforeseen development at home also promises to change his life as he is confronted with sensitive personal matters.
John Spearman’s FitzDuncan’s Fortune does not disappoint his readers. This time, the fascinating adventures of Casimir Duncan take us to exotic places with equally captivating characters. The author’s use of effective and descriptive mood and language is quite consistent and the story flows smoothly. Well structured, the plot runs fluidly and it allows the enigma to be revealed in a logical way. This is a book that engages readers in trying to piece together the threads of the narrative; so much so that it becomes an extremely delightful and easy read, even without knowing the previous stories. I look forward to the next book in this series to follow the breathtaking exploits of Casimir FitzDuncan!
– Reviewed by Maria Victoria Beltran for Readers’ Favorite
FitzDuncan’s Fortune is a work of fiction in the adventure subgenre and serves as the fourth installment in the FitzDuncan series. It is suitable for the general reading audience and was penned by author John J Spearman. Casimir FitzDuncan continues his adventures, agreeing to assist someone protects their sizeable inheritance before being called by the royal court to join the king’s latest personal assassin on a deadly mission to another continent. This may cause Casimir to miss his wedding to Lady Lucy Darling.
This series has such delightful world-building with a wonderful take on light fantasy that feels like an unmissable breath of fresh air in a densely populated genre. Each new piece of information about the world feels wonderfully original and it creates an exciting backdrop for adventure. Author John J Spearman is now four books into the series and shows no signs of slowing down with a novel that pushes his memorable protagonist into new situations that develop the character even further and in some really interesting ways. One particular highlight of the story was the excellent fast pace at which the narrative unfolded. Just as FitzDuncan had jumped a hurdle, the plot had a new one for him to face which strings together to create an exciting and nimble tale. Overall, FitzDuncan’s Fortune is a refreshing take on the fantasy genre that spins an epic yarn with a dynamic leading character set against the backdrop of a gorgeously realized world. It’s an exciting read for all readers and I recommend it highly.
– Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite
With even more clever quips, narrow escapes, and noble gestures, author John Spearman continues Caz’s wild adventures in FitzDuncan’s Fortune, the fourth volume of this eccentrically entertaining series.
Fresh off an adventure that elevated his abilities and standing with the crown, Caz embarks on a quick task to outwit a blackmailer and restore the tainted honor of an old friend’s mother. The heart of this plot, however, involves the same assassin who Caz had recently captured, only to discover that his stepmother was the one offering the blood money. Trading his life for service to the crown, this skilled killer is sent on a royal mission, but he requires an assistant who can act as a noble, but still hold his own in a fight.
No matter what scrapes or impossible choices he lands in, he always takes the time to show his love and adoration for his love, Lady Lucy, debating over gifts and ways to surprise her. Despite the proximity to his inevitable nuptials, Caz agrees to go undercover as Lord Compote and accompany his old would-be murderer. Between fancy meals, sword fights, throat slitting, and wild scheming, Caz manages to learn more about his newfound powers, and his deeper connection with Bellona.
With his unique combination of intelligence and bravado, the titular protagonist is always fun to read on the page. Caz’s code of conduct is perennially curious in a swashbuckling knight-in-shining-armor kind of way, where bashing a blackmailer over the head and stealing his gold is fine, but outright theft from someone who hasn’t broken the law makes him blanch. This honorable hero and his equally powerful partner are both wholesome and adventurous, as they balance on the edge of sex appeal and childlike adoration for one another. What Spearman has always done well is pose ethical and moral quandaries, both small and large, which allows readers to step into the shoes of various characters and weigh their own notions of honor.
As has been true in the other books, the dialogue and narration can be blunt, or unnecessarily explicit, leaving too little to the reader’s imagination, effectively diminishing a scene’s authenticity. There is also a good deal of exposition at the start of the novel, briefly summarizing previous adventures, and explaining the connections to characters in the current book, i.e., Tom, Lucy, Queen Liliana, and Fenwick. This recap writing is something the author has done before, but in future books, a quick review of earlier tales and a character list might feel less heavy-handed if it precedes the narrative itself.
Mostly, Spearman demonstrates his saucy mastery of language, landing subtle jokes and jabs, euphemistically explaining a romantic encounter, or casually depicting Caz’s roguish life of leisure. This imbalance in the prose could be evened out overall, but there are very few moments of genuinely writing that take one out of the story.
All told, FitzDuncan’s Fortune is a strong installment that builds effectively on previous books in the series. Reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and Arsene Lupin, sometimes even within the same paragraph, FitzDuncan remains a charming hero to carry this series even further.
https://featheredquill.com/fitzduncans-fortune/
Casimir FitzDuncan is off on another exciting adventure, or more accurately, several adventures, in the newest book in the FitzDuncan series, FitzDuncan’s Fortune.
The newest book in the FitzDuncan series opens with Casimir FitzDuncan (Caz to those who know him well) meeting with his friend Sir Oliver. Ollie is explaining how FitzDuncan’s stepmother hired Aloysius Fenwick, a paid assassin to kill him. Fortunately for FitzDuncan, his stepmother ran out of money and so Fenwick never followed through with the deed (and for those who haven’t read the earlier books, it catches them up on some of the previous action). Now, Ollie explains, the king has hired Fenwick because, well, shouldn’t every kingdom have a hired assassin?
As the story continues, we are re-introduced to Lucy, FitzDuncan’s betrothed, and learn a little about her magical abilities. Other returning characters Freddy, King Mark, Queen Liliana, and a few others, make quick appearances before the meat of the story gets introduced.
FitzDuncan’s first order of business is to help a man, Thomas Gibson, with his inheritance. FitzDuncan had briefly met Tom during a duel and while he didn’t have much time to form an opinion, FitzDuncan felt Tom was honorable. Tom explains that before his father passed away, he left most of his estate to Tom, with control of the estate going to his stepmother until he reached the age of thirty-five. That was fine since Tom’s stepmother was a kind and caring woman. Unfortunately, there’s an unscrupulous uncle who wants to get his hands on Tom’s inheritance. FitzDuncan likes to help people and happily takes the case. He thinks it’ll be an easy fix, even with the uncle’s blackmailing scheme, but when FitzDuncan learns of a crocked judge who will be deciding the case, things get messy.
The inheritance case isn’t all that FitzDuncan has to deal with. Indeed, it’s just the beginning of a very action-packed novel. When the king calls on FitzDuncan, our hero is disappointed to learn that he must accompany Fenwick (yes, that Fenwick, the assassin who was going to kill him) on a long journey to assassinate the sub-vizier of Alygien who has angered the king. FitzDuncan has to assume the role of an obnoxious, irritating noble while Fenwick will play the role of the servant, in order to get close to the sub-vizier. The question is, will the two travelers make it to Alygien before they try to kill each other?
Still, there’s more action in store for readers. Pirates, magic, sword fights and roaming bands of nomads are just some of the things that await FitzDuncan and his fans. And we mustn’t forget the impending wedding between FitzDuncan and his ever patient and beautiful Lucy. Will he even make it back in time from his travels before the scheduled wedding?
It can be hard to jump into any series “mid-stream,” but for this series, the author did a good job of getting new readers up to speed without spending too much time slowing the story down for die-hard fans. FitzDuncan is a very likeable protagonist and it was easy to dive into his story and get lost in his adventures. Told in the first person by FitzDuncan, the story flowed well and the dialogue was believable and the characters enjoyable, whether “good” or “bad.” Fenwick was definitely a favorite, and the interactions between him and FitzDuncan, when they were undercover, were some of the best, and funniest scenes. FitzDuncan overplayed his obnoxious noble role to perfection and their interactions with the sub-vizier were quite enjoyable. The fantasy touches, with magical elements, were interesting and intriguing but not overpowering to the story. The story ends with a cliff-hanger and readers will undoubtedly be anxious for the author to get busy writing and furthering FitzDuncan’s adventures.
Quill says: Whether you start with book 1 or book 4 in the FitzDuncan fantasy series, you won’t want to miss any of the action.