The Mutiny Run

Battles at sea, derring-do on land and a hefty dose of military intrigue fill the pages of this crisp new historical from Eccles ( The Barbary Run ). In the spring of 1797, most of the British Navy is tied up by a mutiny. The 54-gun Adamant , however, berthed in Liverpool, has avoided the mutineers and must soon venture forth to raid the French barge fleet at Brest. (The French and Dutch plan to invade England or Ireland soon.) Aboard the Adamant is 18-year-old midshipman John Lawson, a strapping son of Yorkshire yeoman stock about to set sail on an adventure that will include combat, capture, espionage, a budding romance and flight. Lawson is joined in his heroic exploits by the Adamant's Captain Brewster, a capable, up-from-the-ranks master who takes a shine to the younger man. Meanwhile, the several colorful villains who keep trouble brewing include another midshipman, cowardly but powerfully connected; a silver-tongued mutineer; a scheming first lieutenant; and a wily Irish spy. Brewster must endure a court of enquiry and Lawson must go face-to-face with the leader of the mutiny, but few readers will be surprised, and fewer still will be displeased, by the outcome and its unabashed honoring of stout hearts and stiff upper lips. (June)