A gap in the Drinkwine series is finally filled. Too introspective to be a good spymaster, the captain is rushed to sea and returns to his HMS roots. Overmatched in ships and men, his bloody persistence prevails but at a great cost in lives on both sides of the battle. ( )

The 12th in the "Nathaniel Drinkwater" series. As Napoleon's army faces defeat on the battlefields of Germany, Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater succeeds Lord Dungarth as head of the Royal Navy's Secret Department. Before long he is caught up in intrigue and the most desperate mission of his career

Drinkwater pieces together some evidence and concludes the French are sending arms to the Yanks via Denmark. He bargains himself a command and sets off to break up the deal.

The second half of this book is an account of an unusually brutal battle, mainly between Drinkwater's frigate and a larger Danish cruiser. That part of the book is up to Woodman's usual fine standard, and quite fascinating, although the extremely heavy toll makes for painful reading.

Unfortunately, the first part of the book is not so well written. Throughout the book Woodman indulges far too often in his favorite stylistic quirk--he's prone to unnecessary foreshadowing. Usually it doesn't much bother me, but in this book it's pretty obtrusive.

This review is has also been published on a dabbler's journal. ( )