Released: 20th October 2022
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Number of Pages: 383
With some support from the Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Leonora Nattrass has released “Blue Water”, a detailed character drama mixed in with a seaborne mystery.
Laurence Jago is a British government official travelling aboard the Tankerville in 1795; his objective is to protect and transport a vital treaty that will prevent the Americans from joining the French in their war against Britain. He steps aboard with an assortment of odd faces who are laid out in the book’s opening. There’s a Comtesse fleeing execution in revolutionary France, a business agent to the great humanitarian Eli Whitney and the ten sailors who crew the Tankerville among others. Blue Water is somewhat based in real history with reference to the envoy John Jay, but Nattrass integrates plenty of naval elements and superstitions to keep things engaging.
While the plot is written in first-person from Jago’s perspective, we quickly get to know the passengers through their interactions. Everyone has their own motivations and reasons for journeying to Philadelphia. This sets the reader up for the murder mystery that unfolds; when one of the sailors is killed in an accident, the treaty goes missing and the ensuing search, combined with the ever-encroaching enemy vessels, makes for a strong dose of background tension. As Laurence pours over the details, the author layers plenty of conversations from the other characters.
Even their French foes receive the same level of attention as they enter aboard the Lovely Lass for some shrewd negotiations. Blue Water is very heavy on dialogue which both matches the time period and fleshes out the characters. If there’s one issue, it’s that some characters are put aside in the final part of the story; Lizzie McKendrick, an Irish performer, has many secrets surrounding her character, but her interactions with the other passengers come to a halt near the end.
Recommended?
YES: With a collection of interesting characters, strong historical grounding and a compelling mystery, Blue Water is well worth a read. Aside from some passengers who don’t receive as much detail or payoff, this unpredictable voyage will keep you guessing.
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