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Allen & Unwin. This Edition first published July 2007
Reviewed by Sally Roddom
Twenty-four year old Wiki Coffin is the illegitimate son of a New England
sea captain and a Maori woman; he is now based in the USA. He has signed
on as a linguist on a US exploratory expedition through the South Seas,
looking for trade routes and artifacts. As the fleet sets sail from
Virginia, Wiki is left behind. He has been arrested for the murder of
Ophelia Stanton, the wealthy daughter-in-law of a local plantation owner.
Wiki quickly proves his innocence and is released to join his ship. The
local sheriff believes the real murderer is part of the expedition and
requests that Wiki investigate. The sheriff’s hunch is proved, as
suspicious deaths occur on board, and other people just disappear. Just
who murdered Ophelia, and what has this got to do with the expedition?
Joan Druett is a renowned maritime historian and she uses a real-life
expedition as a background for Wiki’s adventures. There were six ships in
the ill-fated United States South Seas Exploring Expedition of 1838,
commanded by Charles Wilkes. His total mismanagement, lack of record
keeping, impulsive inter-ship transfers and rash decision making are all
on record. This has given Druett the perfect back ground to mix true
events, and people, with fictional events and characters. The ship that
Wiki is assigned to, and where most of the action takes place, is an
imaginary seventh ship attached to the true fleet of six. The real
expedition took four years to complete, and only two ships returned. Two
ships foundered, one had already returned to the USA in disgrace and the
final one had been sold to an opium trader.
A WATERY GRAVE is the first in a series that will all take place during
this expedition.
Sep 2007 review originally published on Murder and Mayhem
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