Sword and Scimitar by Simon Scarrow

There have been several novels based on the 1565 siege of Malta published during the past year.   I am not complaining about this as the siege was an epic of courage and endurance and deserves to be remembered.   I am pleased to say that in my opinion all the novels that I have read have done justice to the subject.   Simon Scarrow, resting his Legionary heroes Macro and Cato, weaves a story around the siege of love, jealousy, betrayal, redemption and courage with all the skill that we have come to expect from him.

Sir Thomas Barrett is a young English Catholic who has joined the Order of St John on the island of Malta and serves under Jean de la Valette on his galley as he raids the Moorish corsairs that prey on the coasts of Italy and Spain.   On one captured galley they discover Maria, a young Italian noblewoman who is being held for ransom.   Thomas and Maria fall in love and, as he has sworn a vow of chastity on joining the Order, he is expelled.   Twenty years later a messenger arrives at his home in England recalling him to duty.   De la Valette is now Grand Master and, being warned of Sultan Suleman's intention to attack Malta and wipe out the Order, he lifts Thomas's expulsion as he needs every knight to come to the Order's defence.   The messenger, however, has been observed by the spy network of Sir Robert Cecil and Thomas is summoned to London where he is questioned.   To his surprise Cecil is happy for him to go to Malta but only if he takes as his squire one of Walsingham's agents.   This agent has his own mission to perform on the island which he steadfastly refuses to disclose to Sir Thomas.  
This is just the opening couple of chapters after this Scarrow's skill with intricate plotting allied to his first class description of action scenes had this reader trapped as effectively as the knights within the walls of Malta.  
If I am allowed one small quibble it is that, like too many historical novelists today, Scarrow will insist on putting modern sentiments into the mouths of characters who would not dream of expressing them.