The scarlet thief - Paul Fraser Collard

The Scarlet Thief by Paul Fraser Collard introduces roguish hero Jack Lark - dubbed 'Sharpe meets the Talented Mr Ripley' - who gets his first taste of battle and bloodshed in the Crimea. 'An appealing and formidable hero' (Sunday Express) for fans of Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom series and Conn Iggulden.

1854: The banks of the Alma River, Crimean Peninsular. The Redcoats stagger to a bloody halt. The men of the King's Royal Fusiliers are in terrible trouble, ducking and twisting as the storm of shot, shell and bullet tear through their ranks.

Officer Jack Lark has to act immediately and decisively. His life and the success of the campaign depend on it. But does he have the mettle, the officer qualities that are the life blood of the British Army? From a poor background Lark has risen through the ranks by stealth and guile and now he faces the ultimate test...

THE SCARLET THIEF introduces us to a formidable and compelling hero - brutally courageous, roguish, ambitious - in a historical novel as robust as it is thrillingly authentic by an author who brings history and battle vividly alive.