Quartermaster
By Richard Kinsella
A collision at sea threatens to wreck a young captain’s life.
It is 1905. Peter Creswell, heir to a Liverpool shipping company, is master of the cargo ship Cormorantwhen it collides with a fuel-laden tanker. Lives are lost. Unable to cope in the aftermath, Peter retreats to the bottle.
The shrewd and ambitious Rodger Brandon sees not only the chance to one day be running the company instead of Peter, but also sets his sights on Peter’s stunning fiancé. Rivalries come to a head when the two are overseeing the build of the company’s first luxury liner.
The inquiry to the crash sees Peter lose both his master’s licence and his confidence. To escape the pressures, he secretly secures a berth as a quartermaster aboard another ship. But when the new liner becomes a burning inferno on her maiden voyage, could this new tragedy become the catalyst for redemption and retribution?
Richard Kinsella’s Quartermaster is a high-paced thriller, with subtle hints of Joseph Conrad’s tales of the sea.
Richard Kinsella was born in Dundee, Scotland. At seventeen he joined the Merchant Navy but left the sea to work in the financial sector. Later he obtained a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve before being recalled to the regular navy as a Lieutenant-Commander. His first novel was published in 2006. His writing exudes his knowledge of ships and the sea. His characters are based on experiences and knowledge of people from a wide section of society.