Raven's Wrens

by MR Leslie Hamilton

The novel is set in the 1990's, around the Royal Navy's latest ant-submarine frigate HMS Raven. Due to a falling out between the UK government and the USA, the ship is to go on a goodwill tour of the states lasting nine months. Amongst the crew are a division of wrens, only the second Royal Navy ship to have women at sea. The main character is Petty Officer Frank Pitcher who is an engineer and works on the captain's gig. This is their third ship together and Frank is the only member of his hand-picked crew that he trusts with the gig. He often brings aboard his wife and daughter and would never trust anyone else to be in charge of the engine. As there are no women on American warships, the top brass at the admiralty thought it a good idea to have a male in charge of the wrens. This was Frank. The female divisional officer is Lieutenant Janice Penfold. The two do not sea eye-eye on practically everything. Frank is not enthusiastic about taking charge of the wrens, but he has no choice. The novel covers various ports of call and adventures on the way, including hurricanes in Miami and Panama and murder during an exercise with the American navy. Plus many others. The story is split into three segments, each part is a complete book. Although they could be reading as a stand-along story, reading them in sequence would be preferable. Book one, this book, runs from August 1990 to November 1990. Book two will be from November 1990 to February 1991 and book three from February 1991 to May 1991 when the Raven returns to Portsmouth. The conflict between the petty officer and lieutenant spans all three books and each of the 18 girls aboard the Raven will have a story to tell. As you would expect, some of the language is colourful, but not over-so. I spent 10 years in the Royal Navy in the 1960's and '70's, and will bring some of my experiences, plus those of the more modern navy to the pages of the three novels.

225 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2018