Blood Knot

Autumn in the Archipelago between Stockholm and Turku in the Baltic. Millions of birds are migrating, elks swim among the thousands of islands, and the Finns are picking mushrooms, some of which are not toxic. It is a beautiful, mysterious place to sail. The Tall Ships are gathered at Chatham, in the Thames Estuary, for their annual race. Vixen, owned by ex war correspondent Bill Tyrrell, has eight young offenders on board, for the good of their souls. In the middle of the celebrations, they discover a ninth person – a dead Russian, wrapped round the propellor. There is plenty of explaining to do. But nobody is listening to Tyrrell’s explanations, particularly when his past starts messing up the present.

Another corker from Sam Llewellyn. If you like excitement, murder and political intrigue bound in nautical knots, you won't be disappointed. A keen sailor himself, Llewellyn combines seafaring knowledge with a writer's touch to produce a work which places the reader at the heart of this seaborne thriller.