Narrated by Cornell Collins
Another 2018 favourite lately come to audio, K.J. Charles’ Band Sinister is, quite simply, a total delight. The author made no secret of the fact that it’s an homage to the works of Georgette Heyer, who practically invented the ‘modern’ Regency Romance single-handed, or that she employed a number of favourite tropes in terms of the characterisation and plot – and yet in spite of all that, there is no doubt whatsoever that this is a K.J. Charles book, through and through. On the surface, it’s the story of the country innocent seduced by the wicked lord, but in reality, it’s so much more than that, conveying important ideas about the nature of love and friendship, social responsibility and the importance of being true to oneself and of living as one’s conscience dictates.
Guy and Amanda Frisby were born into the landed gentry but have come down in the world. When their mother ran off with her much younger lover, their father took to heavy gambling and heavy drinking and died leaving them with nothing but scandal to their name. When the story opens, Guy is reading – somewhat apprehensively – the gothic novel Amanda has written and sent to a publisher, and in which she has modelled her villains on their near-neighbour, Sir Philip Rookwood (whose older brother was the man with whom their mother ran away), and his close friend, the devilish Lord Corvin, a man with quite possibly the blackest reputation in England.
When Amanda says she wishes they could meet Sir Philip and the group of friends – known as the Murder – who have accompanied him to Rookwood Hall, Guy is horrified; but she gets her wish when she is thrown while out riding and is taken to the Hall in order to have her injuries assessed and cared for. An extremely worried Guy rushes to her bedside fully intent on taking her back home, but when the doctor insists that her life will be in danger if they try to move her, Guy reluctantly agrees that she should stay, and makes plans to remain with her until a suitable female attendant can be found.
Determined to have as little to do with his host as possible, Guy is cold and standoffish to the point of rudeness at first, but his innate good nature soon forces him to admit Sir Philip’s kindness – and also that the man is disturbingly attractive, thoughts Guy ruthlessly shoves aside. He gradually comes to realise that Philip and his friends are nowhere near as black as they have been painted, but rather are a group of free-thinking, like-minded individuals who gather at the Hall in order to enjoy spirited debate about politics, science and art – and to love whom they wish without having to constantly worry about who might be watching.
These discussions are eye-opening for Guy, who is as enthralled by them as he is by the private conversations he has with Philip, who talks passionately about the importance of being true to oneself, his plans to improve the lot of his tenants – and about his relationship with his dearest friends, Corvin and John Raven, which both shocks Guy and intrigues him. He’s spent most of his life trying to ignore his sexual preferences, so to have such things talked about so openly is incredibly freeing – and gives him the courage to respond to Philip’s gentle overtures and accept his offers of shared pleasure.
Their relationship is beautifully done, and although Philip is certainly the more experienced of the two, he finds himself learning something as well, about the sort of love that goes beyond lifelong friendship and shared history. He’s a charming, kind and enlightened man who really feels it a privilege to introduce Guy to sexual pleasure; he never lets Guy forget that what they do, they do together and always with Guy’s explicit consent.
And Guy, who is ridiculously sweet and tragically lonely, is far from the shy, dull “plank” Philip originally believes him to be. He’s quiet and considered, and while it’s true that he is perhaps a little passive, he’s fiercely loyal to those he cares about defends passionately that which he believes in. The eagerness with which he greets Philip’s physical seduction is never in doubt, but this story is as much about the seduction of his mind as of his body; exposure to the new ideas and attitudes espoused by Philip’s friends changes him, too
All the characters – even those with the most minor of roles – are likeable and well-drawn, and add depth and richness to the story. They’re a diverse group in terms of race and sexual orientation, and the relationships between them are really well written, especially that between Philip, Corvin and the artist John Raven. Three neglected boys thrown together in childhood, they forged lifelong bonds of friendship and, grown to adulthood, share each other’s beds whenever the inclination strikes. They love each other dearly and know each other better than anyone, and the openness of their relationship is expertly conveyed through their affectionate, snarky teasing and sometimes brutal honesty.
Cornell Collins has done some fabulous work in a number of audiobooks by K.J. Charles, so I was pleased – and relieved – to see he had been engaged to narrate Band Sinister. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I was disappointed in the narration of some of the author’s recent releases, so knowing this one was in tried-and-tested hands meant I could listen to it without fear of disappointment. I did have a few very small niggles – sometimes there wasn’t enough differentiation between Guy and Amanda, for instance, and David Martello’s accent sounded more Spanish than Portuguese – but there was nothing that impacted negatively on my overall enjoyment. Mr. Collins portrays all the characters appropriately, giving Philip an air of ennui and a slight drawl that lessen as he becomes more interested in and intimate with Guy, and he conveys Guy’s relative youth and innocence through the use of a higher pitch and increased tempo. I was particularly impressed by Mr. Collins’ ability to perform the various conversational dialogues in such a naturalistic manner, so that when people interrupt one another or talk over each other (and of course they can’t but it’s done so convincingly that it sounds as though they do!) it was easy to believe I was listening to more than one person. He also does a terrific job of highlighting the dry humour – which is something I always enjoy in K.J. Charles’ books – and imbues the love scenes between Philip and Guy with genuine warmth and a real sense of intimacy.
Band Sinister is a brilliant take on the traditional regency romance. K.J. Charles’ love for the genre shines through as she puts her unique stamp on it, whether it be the dirty talk in Latin, discourses on the efficacy of sugar beet as a crop or discussions about fossils – it’s both a wonderful tribute and wonderfully original, and is going straight onto my favourites shelf.
Caz
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