The Decoy Ships

Ralph Wrenn went to sea at the age of ten. Now nineteen and recently promoted, he serves as the fourth officer on the HMS Kingfisher. It masquerades as a merchant ship to capture Barbary pirate vessels. On one such mission, Ralph meets a beautiful and intriguing young woman. Now, he must contend not just with battles at sea but with a beguiling stranger who is not what she appears to be.

18th century—England is at war with the French. The East India Company is at risk of losing its trade routes. Tom Batrick arrives in London. For the past ten years, he's worked his way up the ranks on ships patrolling Canadian waters. Now, at the request of the East India Company, he is to captain the merchant ship Warley.

1915. The Atlantic. The Kaiser U-boats prowl the seas. Only the Royal Navy stands in their way. The relentless threat of German U-boats has forced the Royal Navy to deploy its most secret weapon: heavily armed and cunningly disguised merchant vessels—the Q-ships. Commander Gordon Campbell, a seasoned officer in His Majesty's Navy, commands the Farnborough, a tramp steamer converted into a Q-ship. Under his leadership, the Farnborough becomes a deadly decoy, luring German U-boats into range for a brutal strike.

The Nazis have taken northern Europe, and borders are sealed, until one heavily disguised trawler, a decoy ship, finds a way in. Tommy Keelson was a smuggler long before MI6 recruited him for the war effort. Now he commands The Sarah—a German-built trawler refitted with hidden guns and covert equipment. It's a lethal decoy built to slip through occupied waters and fool the enemy. From Saint-Nazaire to Honfleur, Tommy's missions grow deadlier by the week. But his next mission will be his most dangerous yet.