A Watery Grave

Its 1838, and the U.S. Exploring Expedition, a convoy of ships filled with astronomers, naturalists, and sailors, is set to launch from Virginia. Aboard the Ex. Ex. is linguist Wiki Coffin. Half New Zealand Maori and half American, Wikis duty is to help the crew navigate the Pacific islands that are his heritage. But just before departure he is arrested for a vicious murder he didnt commit. The convoy sails off, and hours later Wiki is exonerated, set free to catch up with his ship. The catch: the local sheriff is convinced that the real murderer is aboard the expedition, and Wiki is deputized to identify the killer and bring him to justice. Full of the evocative seafaring detail and atmosphere that have won her numerous awards for her nonfiction, Joan Druetts A Watery Grave is the mystery debut of a masterful maritime writer.

Joan Druett, an award-winning nautical nonfiction writer, is also the author of In the Wake of Madness: The Murderous Voyage of the Whaleship Sharon. She lives in New Zealand.