Bruce Von Stiers

Zumaya Publications has several different types of fictions books. One of these novels is a tale of a knight who would become a duke. The title of this novel is Five Days Till Dawn A Knight’s Ruse. It was written by Patrick Grey, a retired military computer expert and seminary student.

Edwin is the King. He has a nephew named William. This young lad is a Knight, having participated in several battles. The King has a new task for young William. He is to take his rightful place as the Lord of Blackwoods, a title that was once his father’s before his death. Blackwoods is a castle and surrounding land deep in the country. William will be the land baron for all of the terrain close to Blackwoods.

William will have a Squire. His friend James, whose mother lives in Blackwoods castle, will be his Squire. A few other young men will make up his entourage.

William wants to get the lay of the land, so he has James and a couple of the others go on to Blackwoods to set up the castle for his arrival. He ends up in a village close to the castle. William is traveling under the guise of a horse trader.

William ends up settling in the home of Elaine as her tenant. Elaine has a son, John, and a young daughter named Heather. Elaine also has a daughter named Rachel who immediately steals William’s heart.

The novel moves forward in William trying to hide who he is and yet gets a good feel for the people he will be ruling over. He finds out that the people are being taxed twice. Once for the King and other times for Baron Roberts, a knave who lines his own pockets with monies coerced from the people of the region. William vows to make this right.

The ruse that is in the title comes from not only William moving among the people, but keeping his identity secret from Rachel, the woman he’s falling in love with.

What this book has is a little bit of romance and a little bit of gallant fighting by knights. It is listed as a Young Adult, but really could have been listed as a Historical Romance.

The book is a nice little tale of romance, chivalry and greedy people of influence. It is not too violent, nor are there explicit sexual encounters. This book could be read by anyone from a teenager to a senior citizen without anyone feeling embarrassed or grossed out by gore.

You can order the book through the Zumaya Publications web site. To order the book, or check out other book titles, visit www.zumayapublications.com.