THE PROVIDENCE RIDER by Robert McCammon

GRADE: A

*Book 4 of the Matthew Corbett Series*

In my opinion, the Matthew Corbett series is one of the most consistently exciting book series I've read. McCammon is always entertaining and accessible to read and the Matthew Corbett series is one of his best achievements so far. It's very impressive how the books keeps getting better with each installment! 

In The Providence Rider, the young, professional "problem-solver", Matthew Corbett, is a changed man following his near lethal adventure with the pyscho-murderer Tyranthus Slaughter. Now he has been summoned by the mysterious Professor Fell: the worldwide, organized crime mastermind who has been a constant presence behind the scenes in the last two books of the series, and is a major threat to Matthew. The Professor needs Matthew's skills, and promises to call off Matthew's "death card" if he takes the job. So Matthew jumps straight into the lion's den, embarking on a high-stakes, overseas adventure to Fell's Caribbean stronghold of Pendulum Island! 

This book and the rest of the books in the series are great page-turners! One of the reasons is because Matthew is such a relatable and endearing character. It's hard not to like him, relate to him, and root for him, and it's great to see him grow with each installment. The other characters, especially Fell's rogue's gallery of henchmen, are also very well drawn. Another major element to the success of this series is the historical element. It's fun getting tons of easy-to-follow historical detail of the growing colony of New York City in the early 18th Century. 

I would recommend this book and the series to anyone. This one is the fourth in the series. The fifth book, The River of Souls, comes out this summer, and keep in mind that they should be read in order, starting with Speaks the Nightbird. It's fun seeing Matthew grow into his career, a career which is still more than a century away from being described as being a "private-detective!"