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Allen & Unwin. This edition first published July 2007
Reviewed by Sally Roddom
SHARK ISLAND is the second book in the Wiki Coffin series. Wiki is the
result of a romantic liaison between a Maori woman and an American ship
builder. When he is a young teenager, Wiki’s father takes him from New
Zealand back to the US and arranges him a sailor’s apprenticeship on an
American whaler. The tough life gives Wiki superb seafaring skills, while
his Polynesian background gives him the knowledge of many languages. It is
his skill as a linguist which lands him a position on a ship in the U.S.
Exploring Expedition that is travelling through the South Sea Islands. He
is also a sheriff's agent authorized to act at sea as both a criminal
investigator and law enforcement officer.
Following hard on the heels of the events in A WATERY GRAVE, Wiki and
Captain George Rochester are teamed with the hot-blooded and violent
Lieutenant Forsythe. The disunited trio are assigned to sail to Shark
Island to investigate alleged pirate activity off the northeast coast of
Brazil. The island is located directly on the route that the expedition
will take to Rio de Janiero. When they arrive at the island they encounter
a wrecked sealing ship on the shoals of the island. Then the dead body of
the sealer’s captain turns up with a dagger in his back. Forsythe is
immediately suspected of the crime. Although the Lieutenant has proved
himself to be more than capable of violence, Wiki believes he is innocent
of this particular crime and sets about to prove Forsythe’s innocence.
Throw a beautiful young widow, a thuggish crew, and a valuable but missing
cargo into the mix and you get a thrilling tale of adventure on the high
seas.
Author Joan Druett, a maritime historian, writes in an easy-to-read manner
and used her extensive knowledge of nautical history to write this
exciting mystery that moves along at a cracking pace. Many of the
characters and situations were inspired by real life characters and
incidents she found in seafaring journals and memoirs. The plot kept me
engrossed trying to figure out who did the deed, with lots of twists and
turns before arriving at a very satisfactory resolution.
Sep 2007 review originally published on Murder and Mayhem
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