The Bermuda Privateer, Hardcover/William Westbrook

Hailed as groundbreaking by David Donachie, author of the John Pearce Naval Series and the Privateersman Mysteries-- ``All sea stories should tell you something new, and The Bermuda Privateer meets that criterion in spades. Fast paced and covering an area new to me; I was enthralled by the author's encyclopedic knowledge of the Caribbean. There are battles and conspiracies galore, with engaging characters and thrilling actions.`` Nicholas Fallon is captain of the schooner Sea Dog, a privateer that is fast, beautiful and deadly. Unbound by Royal Navy tradition, Fallon enjoys total independence in where he goes, how he fights, and whom he takes as crew. A woman--Beauty Mc Farland--is his first lieutenant. It's 1796, and Sea Dog's owner, Ezra Somers, employs Fallon to protect his Caribbean salt trade from French privateers and pirates. Wicked Jak Clayton is especially ruthless. When the two meet just off the Bahamas, even Fallon's cunning can't overcome their mismatch in firepower and desertion by a cowardly ally. Later, in Bermuda, Fallon is enlisted by the Royal Navy to intercept a Spanish flotilla carrying gold and silver to France. But a massive hurricane halts the British attack on the Spanish transports, driving several ships, including Fallon's, onto the Florida shore. Held by Spanish soldiers, Fallon and the surviving crew escape by turning enemies into friends. Once free, only one mission remains. Wicked Jak Clayton must die The Bermuda Privateer is an action-filled sea story with layered storylines and a modern storyteller's voice.