Published: December 2021
Murky Waters starts briefly on a Normandy beach in the Second World War with a visionary prologue by a soldier – who takes time out from the whiz of dodging bullets to imagine a cross channel ferry service in the future. The story then zooms to the future ferry service where the mystery crime saga plays out. Writing under the pen name HM Stevens, the author showcases his depth of knowledge from a career at sea, particularly in the case of a purser character.
While promising a 'salty, risque' tale, the author assures any former colleagues that although he may draw on his maritime experiences, they will search in vain to identify themselves in his fictitious characters. Just as well, as the plot revolves around embezzlement: two brothers who inherit the ferry company who have 'stupidly defrauded HMRC' and now face financial ruin but are saved by the philandering CEO of a major shipping line.
Also onboard in the novel are a secretive group of crew who run a tobacco smuggling racket, a ship's purser lining his pockets and a 'kinky sexual predator'. You could not make it up… but this real life mariner author has!
Read the Nautilus Telegraph's review
