BROTHERS OF THE BLADE
A Sergeant 'Fancy Jack' Crossman Novel

After the final dreadful battle in the mud and cold of the Crimea, there could hardly be a greater contrast - 'Fancy Jack' Crossman, minus a hand, and newly promoted to Lieutenant, finds himself taking ship for the heat and excitement of India. He is to assist the East India Company Army in gathering intelligence at a time when there are ominous signs of restlessness amongst the native troops. Crossman lands at Bombay, expecting to make his way north to the Punjab region where he will be seconded to the irregular infantry force known as Coke's Rifles. Accompanying him is Sgt Farrier Jones, a military cartographer. Jones is a highly intelligent man, educated at a village church school. Yet Crossman, himself risen from the ranks, sees nothing of his former self in Jones and believes the sergeant is reaching too high. The two men do not get on. Then Crossman meets the Maharaja of Rajputan who offers him a third companion on his journey to the Punjab, a tall and sullen Rajput, who has no desire to be the bodyguard of a British officer. The unlikely trio undergo several trials and adventures before being swept up in the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and the march to relieve Delhi.

The year is 1855 and the port of Sebastopol is still under siege by the allies with the Russians putting up a vigorous defence. Jack Crossman and his hardy band of malcontents find their own ways to harass the enemy in the hills and valleys around the city. Russian sharpshooters mysteriously disappear as Crossman and his men chip away at the enemy's morale.

But these foxhunts serve merely as a warm-up to the British attack on the Redan, a fortification guarding Sebastopol. The British attack, when it does come, is ill-planned and ill-advised, ending in total disaster and forcing Crossman to bear witness to the wholesale massacre of his fellow soldiers. Two months after this hard-hitting failure, French and Sardinian forces foil a massive Russian counterattack and Sebastopol is left to the allies.

At last the Crimean War is over, and Sergeant Crossman learns that he is to continue his life of espionage and sabotage in a new setting, both dangerous and exotic - India.

THE WINTER SOLDIERS
A Sergeant 'Fancy Jack' Crossman Novel

After the battle of Inkerman on 5 November 1854 the British Army in the Crimea faces a terrible winter with hopelessly inadequate provisions and clothing. In this grim season Sergeant Jack Crossman and his usual band of grumblers and stalwarts are billeted at Kadikoi village near Balaclava harbour, with instructions to blow up the magazine in the Russian Star Fort. Yet it transpires this is not to be Crossman's main mission. His true task is to spy on a British general accused of corruption, and to bring about his downfall.

Crossman does not relish this undercover mission but of course will carry out direct orders to the best of his ability. In the meantime, however, he and his comrades will also destroy an enemy clocktower and a crane, and educate soldiers' brats to stop them from running wild - while on a personal level, Crossman will have to pit his wits against his old flame, Mrs Lavinia Durham, to foil her attempts to wed him to a lady of her choice. In addition to all these special duties Crossman and the 88th Connaught Rangers are to play a key role in two actions that form part of the overall strategy of the war: the taking of Kertch, gateway to the Sea of Azov, and the assault on the Quarries.

Scenes of desperate hardship are sharply contrasted with lighter moments in the field, and the brief, thrilling bouts of close combat that will eventually determine the outcome of the war. Set against this bleak historical backdrop Garry Douglass Kilworth brings vividly to life the friendship and the courage of men who have seen long hard service together, and are willing to risk whatever it takes to achieve their ultimate goal.

SOLDIERS IN THE MIST
A Sergeant 'Fancy Jack' Crossman Novel

Following on from The Devil's Own and The Valley of Death comes another rousing adventure featuring Sergeant Jack Crossman of the 88th, the Connaught Rangers. Nicknamed 'Fancy Jack' by the troops for his aristocratic birth yet choosing to join the ranks instead of buying a commission, Crossman is now established with his gang of motley troublemakers from the regiment, as one of the British Army's secret weapons in the Crimean War.

After the Battle of Balaclava and the terrible massacre of the Light Brigade, the British Army is busy rallying its forces in the Crimea. Morale is low, supplies are scarce, the elements unfriendly, and it seems there is a traitor loose in the British forces threatening to reveal all their secrets to the enemy. Sergeant Jack Crossman is sent on another near-suicide mission, a 'fox hunt', to cut off Russian supply routes to the north, and once again risks life and limb to guarantee the success of the British Army... Meanwhile, the Russians launch an attack for possession of Shell Hill, and it's another black powder battle for Crossman and the troops.

THE VALLEY OF DEATH
A Sergeant 'Fancy Jack' Crossman Novel

The adventures of 'Fancy Jack' Crossman and his motley crew of troublemakers from the proud 88th regiment in the brutal Crimean War continue in The Valley of Death. Recovering from their successful first battle against the Russians, the bloody Battle of Alma, the British, French and Turkish allied troops are spread thinly between the city of Sebastopol, fiercely defended by the Russians, and the Balaclava harbour to the south. Sergeant Crossman is again singled out to go on a secret mission to undermine the Russian defenses in the besieged city of Sebastopol. Almost killed in his attempt, he returns just in time to take his place in the 'thin red line' at the most famous battle of the Crimean War, the Battle of Balaclava, where he will witness the tragic and hopeless Charge of the Light Brigade on the heavily protected Russian defenses.

THE DEVIL'S OWN
A Sergeant 'Fancy Jack' Crossman Novel

The Crimean War: one of the most brutal and bloody wars in history, and the soldiers fighting it face violent death both on the battlefield at the hands of the fierce Cossacks, and off, from the scourge of cholera. Sergeant Jack Crossman, tough, shrewd and skillful, is part of the proud 88th regiment, the Connaught Rangers, also known as the Devil's Own after Wellington saw them and exclaimed: 'I don't know what effect those men will have on the enemy, but by God they terrify me.'

Nicknamed Fancy Jack by the troops for his aristocratic background, Crossman chose to join the ranks instead of buying a commission to prove his worth as a soldier. Grudgingly admired equally by his commanding officers and the men in the ranks, Crossman is singled out to go on a series of near-suicide missions - known as fox hunts - with a motley crew of expendable troublemakers from the regiment. Conscious that the success or failure of these missions could determine the outcome of the war, Crossman is determined not to fail. As one of the bloodiest battles of the war approaches, Crossman must push himself to the very limits of his abilities as a soldier if the defeat of the Russians, and the pride of the British army is to be assured.