I was delighted to get to Another English Civil War (Tales from The Red Lion Book 2) remarkably quickly, for me anyway, after finishing Book 1, Collapse of the Wave. Which shows how much I enjoyed the first book.
Dan still spends much of his time in his favourite place, The Red Lion, but this time he’s started dating Debbie, the barmaid. Which, I guess, gives him another reason to be there. However, a complication arises when his ex, Jen, appears one day.
I thought this novel covered two important topics. The first being the threat of pub closure due to the parlous state of the industry at present. Dan is tipped off that Tom, the landlord of The Red Lion, is planning on closing the pub and converting it into flats. With Debbie’s gentle persuasion Dan rather reluctantly takes the lead in the plans to keep it open. All of which causes Dan great anxiety at times. The second, is mental health issues, particularly in men but loneliness in general. Again, Dan comes to the fore and leads the way in encouraging greater interaction between those in the community.
This is all while Dan is dealing with his own demons. The reappearance of Jen and the pressure she is putting on him. And from the Witchfinder General. You’ll have to read it to find out more about that.
Beautifully observational and excellently written. Highly recommended.
I reviewed Collapse of the Wave (Tales from The Red Lion Book 1) HERE.
