Book Review: Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden

Meet Lydia Pallas.  Orphaned as a young Greek immigrant child on the Boston wharves, Lydia grew up determined not to rely on anyone but herself.  All grown up, Lydia, who is fluent in multiple languages, works for the Navy as a translator.  When her neat and orderly (OCD) world is suddenly turned upside down, she makes a deal with mysterious Alexander Banebridge who has a driving need to shut down the opium trade.

Elizabeth Camden weaves a good, solid story pulling you in to the idiosyncrasies of her main characters.  While the majority of the story was fairly predictable, I was not at all discouraged by that fact.  I really did enjoy the story and the twists and turns that it had.

One thing that I absolutely loved was the opportunity to learn.  Ms. Camden does a masterful job in teaching about the opium trade that was extremely prevalent and widely accepted by many physicians in the 1800s.  I remember reading somewhere that opium was actually encouraged by most doctors at that time.  So the great detail she went into on that subject, as well as the behind the scenes look at the Navy was very much appreciated by me.

All in all, a quite excellent book.  I highly encourage you to branch out to this author.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”