Ferry twisty nautical crime novel
Murky Waters, by HM Stevens
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!
Murky Waters
By HM Stevens
Self-published (available in the Nautilus Bookshop)
ISBN: 979 86778 59670
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
The history beneath our hulls
Shipwrecks of the Solent, by Richard M JonesThis slim volume of maritime history is a fascinating book to have by your side when you're crossing the busy Solent sea area.
Bicentenary books about a beloved body
One Crew, by Helen Doe, and 200 Years of Lifesaving at Sea, by MirrorpixThe RNLI celebrated its 200th anniversary on 4 March this year. To mark the occasion, two attractive new books have been published: an official history and a 'life in pictures'.
Powerful academic appraisal of life at sea
Sea-Time: an ethnographic adventure, by Helen SampsonFew people have done more than Professor Helen Sampson to raise awareness and understanding of the lives of the world's seafarers.
Health reminder for maritime men
Sailing Through Life, by Nick ArdleyThis book is a helpful reminder to those working in the male-dominated seafaring industry that going for a checkup could save your life.