Figurehead: Book 2 – Bite of the Jackal

Hollywood Book Reviews

In 1675, Silas Pike sails across the ocean to find and rescue his fiancé, Francine Adams, held captive by the pirate known as Jackal. But the “Figurehead” book series, written by Rock Lambert, is not a Mario and Princess Peach kind of story. It’s a much more painful tale of love and revenge. Book two, “Bite of the Jackal,” begins immediately where its predecessor leaves off: Silas Pike, captain of the ship Ashford, is hunting pirates – namely the pirate who kidnapped and tortured his beloved fiancé, then beat and left his friend for dead.

The story evokes a true feel for a seaside way of life in 17th century Virginia, both friendly and frightening. Aboard the deck of the behemoth ship Ashford, canvas sails full of wind and wooden hull splitting the salty ocean, there is a sense of adventure and camaraderie – a condition born from the real danger of hunting pirates, men who won’t hesitate to kill. Meanwhile, in the year 2015, a mysterious wooden figurehead found in Carter’s Point, Virginia is discovered to be carved in the likeness of a woman named Francine Adams.

“Figurehead: Book 2 – Bite of the Jackal” takes place on two different beaches in time: a 1600’s sea village living in real fear of pirates, and a modern town equally afraid of recession and lack of economy. The two stories are juxtaposed; they are two parallel sets of heroes and villains revolving around the same woman. Certain men, for all their modern gadgetry, are still thieving pirates at heart. And boys, intertwined in Francine’s fate, are turning into men.

The book boasts a large, diverse and evolving set of characters. Silas Pike and Jackal are two heads on the same coin as their lust for vengeance drives their sanity to the brink. Francine, once held at the mercy of pirates, becomes a much more formidable creature when her name is spoken out loud in the Carter Point museum. The two points in time, vastly different and yet forebodingly similar, are equally enthralling and irrevocably intertwined, revolving around the same captivating woman.

“Bite of the Jackal” is a suspenseful addition to the “Figurehead” series, building on the mysteries introduced in “Rise of a Legend” while offering its own tension as the story of Silas Pike and Francine Adams progresses into something heartbreakingly sinister and totally enthralling.

As a standalone novel, “Bite of the Jackal” does a skillful job catching readers up to events from book one. Lambert seamlessly incorporates the necessary information into book two, without the messy blocks of recapping that usually accompany such endeavors. Readers are able to make sense of the story without reading “Rise of a Legend,” but having completed “Bite of the Jackal,” it’s hard to imagine anyone not hungry for more.