A Watery Grave (Wiki Coffin Mysteries, 1)

This book is written the way historical fiction should be. I will read more of Druett's books. Time to buy the second book.

I got this book many many months ago, and finding myself with nothing else to read, gave it a go. Hard to believe it's a debut novel. Full of adventures on the high seas and the main character Wiki, son of a Salem Captain and New Zealand mother was just great. I learned quite a bit from this book about how ships were sailed in the 1800s. Not that I was ever really interested in that, but the author writes so well I was pulled into the story, the characters and all the information about ships. Can't wait to read the second novel in the series. Give it a go, I'm sure you will enjoy the characters and the mystery.

I agree with Bozemaniac's comment about the lack of depth when compared to other maritime authors such as, O'Brian, C.S. Forester, Kent, et al. Other aspects that appeared dubious to me are some of the described handling of the square-rigged sailing vessels of that era and the relaxed discipline of some of the naval officers. Conversations among the characters are presented in mostly today's vocabulary and employ only bits and pieces of the vernacular of that era, including maritime terms, as opposed to O'Brian and the like. Subsequently, I feel that author Druett appears to present no intended purpose to emulate the style and depth of the authors mentioned above. It's simply a much lighter delivery.What I see here is a nicely told sea tale, loosely entwined with the initial days of an historical nautical event (a common ploy of historical fiction authors) blended with a twist of mystery. Druett's knowledge of native New Zealand and South Seas way of life is thrown in to enhance the main (half-Polynesian) character and does provide some depth too - an interesting approach indeed. As with typical uncomplicated mysteries, I was delighted with its suspenseful climax in the last pages.As I moved through it, I also visualized an intended scope of readership to include teen age. Well, what a nice way to entice young readership on to the more involved tales of Forester and the like! However, American maritime writer James Nelson may be a worthy way point in route before the heavy English ship-of-the-line narratives are boarded. IMHO, Nelson's literary fashion lies betwixt Druett and the O'Brian types. Plus, Nelson's Biddlecomb and Marlowe series do give a nice feel-good to us Americans. It's pleasurable for we Yanks to have a morsel of American naval historical fiction in a sea of British well-done novels!So, fellow land lubbers, I plan to clap my eyes on her next sequel or two for some all-plain-sail cruising, wear ship, and then navigate a course into the larger swells of Pope with maybe a Dumas tale and a dash of Sabatini for blue water winter reading!

The morning the US Exploring Expedition is set to launch, Wiki Coffin finds himself waiting on shore. When shots ring out, he thinks he is the target. Instead, the target is a row boat floating down the river. The occupant of the boat is already dead from a broken neck. She is the wife of one of the expedition's astronomers.Wiki is briefly accused of the crime, but the sheriff quickly realizes that couldn't be. He's able to rejoin the expedition before it completely launches. But when another death occurs not too long into the voyage, Wiki begins to suspect a connection between the two. Is there a killer on board? Can Wiki find him?This is a series debut that shows lots of promise. Wiki, half New Zealander and half American, is a fascinating character. In fact, all the characters on board the expedition are interesting. And watching the way Wiki is treated is quite fascinating. I was not even aware of this historic expedition from the 1830's, so that aspect of it is fascinating as well. Plus, I love boats and the ocean. The mystery was good and managed to confuse me until the heart stopping ending.The only real flaw is the historic detail. I know, I know, it's a historic mystery. But, the author, at times, overwhelmed me with ship jargon. These terms weren't explained anywhere in the book. Additionally, she occasionally slowed down the action to give us great detail about life on the ship. Some of that came into play later in the book, but even so it frustrated me at the time. And there is some needless background on the main characters that slowed things down.Despite the overwhelming historic detail, I really enjoyed this book. I am looking forward to catching up with Wiki soon to see where the expedition heads next.

It’s 1838 and part-Maori Wiki Coffin is scheduled to embark with the US Exploring Expedition from Virginia when he’s mistakenly arrested for murder before being tasked with surreptitiously investigating the expedition, on the high seas, to find the real killer. Druett marvellously combines mystery and history in a unique crime novel setting. Wiki is a terrific and engaging lead, the book is drenched in maritime colour and detail, and the murder mystery itself twists to a satisfying end.

Most original, although I did not realise that all the books in the series are sequential. I enjoyed it, but I did have to work at it! It suddenly picks up speed after a slow start. Bought a cheap hard back!