Dr Gabriel Tavener once again surprises

Having discovered that he’s no longer ill when stepping onto a boat Gabe wastes no time putting his affairs in order and grabbing with two eager hands the chance to voyage across the oceans once more.
Gabe joins the Luipaard as the ship’s physician which will travel to the Eastern Seas. The merchant Walter Haverleigh is sending his fastest ship on this trade mission which he believes will make them all very wealthy.
Gabe did not expect to be away for three years. He did he expect their trading goal to be Japan.
Nor did he expect to be leaving with treasures that would incur the wrath of a wealthy Japanese warlord
One so angry that he had ships and men pursuing Gabe back to England.
Exotic and exciting, added to by Gabe’s coming up against the mystical that illuminates the universe.
Gabe explores the world, friendship, family and home as he comes to realize where his heart truly is.
A twisted, exciting addiction to Gabe Tavener’s story.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

The Chrysanthemum Tiger by Alys Clare takes place circe 1605 and tells the tale of a country doctor who agrees to be the physician on a ship to the East. They went further east than he had anticipated and ended up in Japan where they spent a year. It seems the goods they wanted to buy had to be made. Gabriel Taverner spent that time in the home of a long not resident of the area, but not Japanese. He was called Romeu. His wife was dead. They had a daughter who lived with her grandfather who the most powerful man in the area, who was Japanese, Aroto Tagauchi. A Great many odd and interesting things happened to Gabe while he was there not the least of which was the night a woman snuck into his bed. He never saw her again after that, but she left him a message, delivered by Natsu, one of the girls from the bath house. She warned him to open the box when they were at see. The next morning on the dock she shoved a parcel into his hands and ran away.

Life had not stood still while he had been gone. Too many things had happened, some associated with the gifts he had been given as he left Japan. This was in interesting story, especially seeing Japan in 1605 through an Englishman’s eyes. Life in England was just as interesting, but what he was used to. It had joys and sorrows and some unspeakable violence. There was also magic. It was cleverly written as only Alys Clare can do it. I saw through her, though, but not as far as she went. It had moments of abject fear and moment of great love. It was a thoroughly enjoyable novel.

I was invited to read The Chrysanthemum Tiger by Severn House. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #SevernHouse #AlysClare #TheChrysanthemumTiger

I thank NetGalley and Severn House for an advance reader copy of “The Chrysanthemum Tiger.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Gabriel Tavener’s final adventure finds the sailor home from the sea at last. But not before he returns with a precious cargo and a mythical, ancient symbol that only Alys Clare can write about in her truly magical style. We are also with Gabe as he experiences an awakening in faith, whereby he realizes that belief can be more than a strict adherence to one set of religious dogma. And that’s all beside the deadly hide and seek that Gabe must participate in to stay alive, because of said cargo and said mythical symbol. All this in one wonderful book!

Traveling with Gabe in “The Chrysanthemum Tiger” was truly an adventure, as readers go between Japan and England, over a two-and one-half year time span. And there is love, death and much in between, as he must find a way to get home while protecting himself and others. But there is at least more love awaiting him, at the end. If he can live long enough to get there.

The last book in the Tavener saga is full of mystical imagery, resounding action and the passionate characters and settings that only a seasoned author at the top of her craft can provide. I am sad to see the series come to an end, but “The Chrysanthemum Tiger” is nothing short of a page-turning delight.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
3 of 5
Recommend for fans of historical thriller/mysteries. This is not a standalone.
This book starts out strongly, taking the main character, Gabriel, on a long voyage to Japan. He's just discovered that after many years, his inability to be on a ship without horrible sickness has mysteriously gotten better. There is what seems to be an interesting (although very Shogun influenced) story that develops with Gabriel in Japan, but it and the subsequent voyage back to England get cut short.
Meanwhile, family and friends at home in England must deal with the fact that Taverner's replacement is a terrible doctor and horrible person.
I was happy that some 'mysteries' about characters in this series were resolved (this is apparently the end of the series) but I felt that bringing the two plotlines together felt rather forced and rushed. The ending seemed abrupt to me.
As a longtime reader of the series, I would have liked another 50-100 pages to round out the plots and make this feel less like a -insert magic here- and everyone lives happily ever after thing. I think the characters deserved a better sendoff.

I’d not read any of the previous books in the series but picked this one up as part of it is set in Japan. And I’m always in favour of historical fiction set in Japan, particularly when it’s pre 1900. The author has done a good job in making this novel standalone although I suspect the emotional wallop of the ending passed me a little by as I’ve not spent several novels with these characters.

Our story starts with Gabe enlisting as a ship’s surgeon and sailing off across the world. Unbeknownst to him, he’s been told the wrong destination and the ship is actually heading for Japan. Gabe experiences life in a little Japanese village just up the road/mountain from Nagasaki where he learns about chopsticks and onsen. Then something happens. When the trading ship leaves to return to London, Gabe is given something and, the Japanese start pursuing them all the way back around Africa then onto Plymouth and London. Will Gabe outwit his pursuers, stay alive and hang onto what he’s been given? This chase is all very enjoyable, historically inaccurate as Japanese ships weren’t ocean-going long voyage types, but good fun. Yes, the outcome is a given but the more interesting part is how it comes about and what it all has to do with Gabe’s replacement doctor (useless and obnoxious) who’s found murdered.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

1605. Dr Gabriel Taverner signs on as ships surgeon and travels to Japan, with events leading to disaster. Meanwhile the replacement he chose is intensely disliked but soon there is a murder. Unfortunately the time in Japan was not that interesting but the mystery was okay .
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the last book in what has been a very good series, with strong characters, compelling plots, and an interesting early 17th century setting. Series readers will know that Gabriel Taverner has gone back to sea as a ship’s surgeon, leaving his sister, friends, and potential love interest very abruptly at the end of the preceding book. This one picks up from there as those left behind deal with his long absence and his unpleasant replacement. The death of that new doctor in ways that appear related to Gabriel’s travels are the driver for the book, which manages to resolve the mystery while tying up other loose ends from the series. The whole series is well worth a read, and this one is a strong ending to it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

The Chrysanthemum Tiger was a good read, but it wasn't really a mystery. Call it an adventure or a thriller, but the are only brief moment when readers find themselves puzzled. I like the Gabriel Tavener mysteries and enjoyed spending more time with Taverner: Living in King James' England, a former ship's doctor, then village doctor, and once again a ship's doctor heading back toward the village.

The Chrysanthemum Tiger does introduce a new character to the series that I look forward to seeing more of—and meeting that individual at the start sets up the likelihood that I'll get the most out of future volumes —but I'm hoping the next volume will be more of a mystery than this one was.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.