Port Royal

William Rennie #2

by Peter Smalley

It is the year 1788. HMS Expedient has returned from a perilous secret mission to the Pacific Ocean. Her Captain, William Rennie, and First Lieutenant James Hayter should be wealthy men, but their patron, the sinister spymaster Sir Robert Greer, has seen that their rewards and their crews are meager at best. The most they can hope for is a new commission - no easy matter in the and the only man with influence enough to get them one is Greer. Everyone knows that the uneasy calm that exists between Britain and pre Revolutionary France cannot last the coming political ferment on the Continent. French spies are already abroad in the British Colonies planning attacks that will take place when war breaks out. One of the places most at risk is the island of a key strategic and economic target of the French. Soon Expedient is on her way to Port Royal. There they find a society founded on the unimaginable riches of slavery and the plantations; a society threatened by sexual intrigue, scandal and the ever-present threat of fever. But soon murder is added to the mix and it falls to Rennie and Hayter to unravel a complex enemy plot taking place at the Governor's residence at Spanish Town; a plot that will end in a bloody and unexpected sea action.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Historical

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

From Wikipedia

Peter Smalley is an Australian born author, screenwriter and broadcaster who lives in the United Kingdom, who has written a series of naval thrillers featuring Captain William Rennie. His first Rennie adventure HMS Expedient was published by Century, an imprint of Random House in 2005. His screenwriting credits include Dead-End Drive In (1986), The Return of Captain Invincible (1984) and Chopper Squad (1978–1979).

Smalley was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and following a career in advertising he became a screenwriter, broadcaster, and novelist. Smalley is from a seafaring family, and lives in London with his wife, Clytie.

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert]

Read this book in 2006, and its the 2nd volume of the "Rennie & Hayter" series.

This tale is set in AD 1788, two years after their desparate mission in the Pacific Ocean for the ruthless Spymaster Sir Robert Greer.

Reliant at the moment to this Sir Robert Greer for work, they will sent to Jamaica, Port Royal to be precise in an attempt to find out the lie of the land.

In Europe the peace that is exists at the moment cannot last long anymore, simply because the revolutionaries in France are winning more and more territory, sending spies all over the world to infiltrate French interest in places where Britain is holding sway, and it won't be long before Napoleon will come to the forefront and Europe and the rest of the world in full war.

What Rennie and Hayter will find in Jamaica is a society founded on the riches of slavery and the plantations, and a society that is sick to the core and where murder will soon be added to the mix.

Our heroes, Rennie and Hayter, will be in the thick of the action to unravel this complex plot that will take place at the Governor's house in Spanish town, and that plot will see the end at a decisive sea action in which Rennie and Hayter will excel themselves.

What is to follow is an entertaining seafaring story with political intrigue, and that will bring Rennie and Hayter in full action, all brought to us by the author in an excellent fashion.

Very much recommended, for this is another great addition to this remarkable series, and that's why i like to call this episode: "A Very Exciting Sequel"!

[Michael Burke]

about Port Royal, slaves, yellow jack heat

[Bettie]

From wiki: Port Royal was once home to privateers employed to nip at superpower Habsburg Spain's empire when smaller European powers dared not directly make war on Spain. As a port city, it was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals and was a popular homeport for the English and Dutch sponsored privateers to spend their treasure during the 17th century. When those governments abandoned the practice of issuing letters of marque against the Spanish treasure fleets and possessions in the later 16th century, many privateers turned pirate and used the city as their main base during the heyday of the Caribbean pirates in the 17th century. Pirates from around the world congregated at Port Royal coming from waters as far away as Madagascar.

Yellow Jack:
1) The flag displayed from lazarettos, naval hospitals, and vessels in quarantine. 2) Synonym for yellow fever

SOLID!

4* HMS Expedient (2006)
3* Port Royal (2007)
TR Barbary Coast (2007)
TR The Gathering Storm (2009)
TR The Hawk (2009)
TR The Pursuit (2010)