Readers unfamiliar with the previous eight books in the Kydd series (The Admiral's Daughter
, etc.) may find themselves lost at sea with the plot and setting of Stockwin's underwhelming latest addition. After the death of Cmdr. Thomas Kydd's one true love, Rosalynd, in Daughter
, Kydd's depression only worsens when his ship, the HMS Teazer
, is assigned to the Channel Islands, a backwater in the sea war between England and Napoleonic France. His crew's loyalty flagging, Kydd is framed for smuggling, then cashiered from royal service. After a brief stint working as a stagehand for a roving theater troupe, he is recruited to captain a privateer, duty he previously considered beneath him, while his steadfast friend and clerk, Nicholas Renzi, falls into the service of the prince of Bouillon, who is part of a plot to kidnap Napoleon and restore the Bourbon throne. Full of indecipherable sailing jargon and one-dimensional characters, Stockwin's plodding installment sinks. (Oct.)
