David Donachie

An Ill Wind

by David Donachie

1793. John Pearce and his Pelicans are homeward bound, determined to put the treacherous Captain Ralph Barclay in the dock. But first they must evacuate Toulon where the Republican Army and the threat of the...

By the Mast Divided

by David Donachie

London 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce is illegally press-ganged from the refuge of the Pelican tavern to a brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. In his first few days Pearce discovers...

An Awkward Commission

by David Donachie

July, 1793. Since being press-ganged into service in King George’s Navy, John Pearce has endured a whirlwind few months, which have seen him survive wild storms and bitter battles with the enemy. He is finally...

The Admirals' Game

by David Donachie

1794. Lieutenant John Pearce, recently returned from the Atlantic, is caught between the constant feuding of two senior admirals. One puts him in a position of maximum danger while another asks him to undertake...

A Flag of Truce

by David Donachie

Revolution. Bloodshed. Glory

1793. Returning triumphant from Corsica, Lieutenant John Pearce receives a mixed welcome. But with the siege of Toulon escalating in violence and the French Revolutionary Army preparing...

Enemies at Every Turn

by David Donachie

Free from jail, Lieutenant John Pearce is not free from the smugglers whose boat he stole - they want bloody revenge and are prepared to chase him to the ends of the earth to get it. Granted a commission by...

A Sea of Troubles

by David Donachie

1794. In the wake of the Glorious First of June, an equivocal success for the British naval fleet against the French Revolutionary forces, Lieutenant John Pearce has pressing matters to attend to. He must undertake...

Blown Off Course

by David Donachie

Lieutenant John Pearce is considering his future. Lacking funds, an occupation if he leaves naval service, or the evidence of perjury he once held against Captain Ralph Barclay, the brute who pressed he and...

A Game of Bones

Privateersman Mysteries #6

by David Donachie

The long-awaited return of the Bucephalas to the safety of the Cinque Ports is interrupted by a disastrous engagement in the Channel. The looming shape of a merchantman becalmed in fog presents an almost irresistible...

The Scent of Betrayal

Privateersman Mysteries #5

by David Donachie

The discovery of an abandoned Spanish merchant ship off the coast of America plunges the Ludlows into a far-reaching conspiracy fueled by jealousy, ambition and nationalistic fervor. The Bucephalas lies trapped...

An Element of Chance

Privateersman Mysteries #4

by David Donachie

As war spreads across the globe, Harry Ludlow joins the struggle for the richest trade in the world. When half his crew is illegally pressed into the Royal Navy by the vicious Captain Toner, Harry sets off in...

The Dying Trade

Privateersman Mysteries #2

by David Donachie

Arriving in the squalid, seething port of Genoa, Harry Ludlow and his partner and younger brother, James, find it a tinderbox of tension, fed by the discovery of a hanged British sea captain and packs of English...

The Devil's Own Luck

Privateersman Mysteries #1

by David Donachie

Harry Ludlow, forced out of the Royal Navy, becomes a privateer in partnership with his younger brother James. But for the Ludlows, murder and intrigue take more of their time than hunting fat trading vessels....

A Hanging Matter

Privateersman Mysteries #3

by David Donachie

Returning to England, Harry and James become embroiled in a vicious struggle between rival smugglers played out in the English Channel. Witnesses to a bloody confrontation, they flee to Deal—only to find that,...