The Devil in Paradise--Captain Putnam in Hawaii

September 15, 2019
Haley (A Darker Sea, 2017) continues his string of naval adventures starring Captain Bliven Putnam with a yarn that opens in 1817 and the USS Rappahonnock patrolling the Gulf of Mexico in search of slave traders. After delivering the liberated people from one ship in Boston, Putnam is sent to the Pacific. Unable to bear another separation from her husband, Clarity enterprisingly sails with Christian missionaries to Hawaii, where she becomes acquainted with Hawaii's queen as she awaits Bliven's arrival. As Putnam carries out his mission to battle pirates in the Strait of Malacca, and show the flag in Canton, where he learns that the notorious, now newly enraged Captain Jakob Saeger is en route to Hawaii, bent on vengeance against people he believes cheated him. Putnam pursues; too late to prevent a massacre, he lays a trap for Saeger, which springs in a cannon-firing finale. Brimming with Haley's signature delight in nautical detail and suspense, this entertaining tale stokes readers' expectations for more of Putnam's high-seas exploits.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)