The Commodore

Deutermann’s experience as a U.S. Navy captain informs this engrossing novel set in the Pacific theater during WWII. Capt. Harmon “Sluff” Wolf commands the USS John B. King, “a brand-new, 2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyer.” The son of a Chippewa father and an Irish mother whose family emigrated to the U.S. from Canada, he received the nickname Sluff (for “short little ugly fat fucker”) at the Naval Academy. Given the prejudice of the day, his rise in the formal white-gloved ranks of the Navy is all the more impressive. While patrolling the waters off Guadalcanal in the J.B. King, he develops new ways of fighting the enemy that save his ship and sink Japanese warships, but his superiors are slow to appreciate, much less adopt, his tactics. Sluff is stubborn and sticks to his guns, and in a series of night engagements he proves his worth and earns a promotion to commodore. Deutermann (Pacific Glory) handles the human-interest aspects well, but it’s his battle sequences on the high seas that stand out. Fans of military action thrillers will race through the pages and finish the book wanting more. Agent: Nick Ellison, Nick Ellison Agency. (Aug.)