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.

Paul's love of military history started at an early age. A childhood spent watching films like Waterloo and Zulu whilst reading Sharpe, Flashman and the occasional Commando comic, gave him a desire to know more of the men who fought in the great wars of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. At school, Paul was determined to become an officer in the British army and he succeeded in winning an Army Scholarship. However, Paul chose to give up his boyhood ambition and instead went into the finance industry. Paul stills works in the City, and lives with his wife and three children in Kent.

This is a brilliant debut and I look forward to reading more of Jack Lark!
Bernard Cornwell

I love a writer who wears his history lightly enough for the story he's telling to blaze across the pages like this. Jack Lark is an unforgettable new hero
Anthony Riches

I really like reading debut books, to see who are the stars of the future, and Paul Fraser Collard is most certainly one. Book two cannot come soon enough for me
Parmenion Books

Sharpe fans will be delighted to welcome a swashbuckling new hero to follow... Marvellous fun
Peterborough Telegraph