Floating Gold (Under Admiralty Orders - The Oliver Quintrell Series Book 1)

FLOATING GOLD is “a wonderful blend of classic Georgian naval fiction, a mystery/thriller and a grand treasure hunt - a vividly drawn tale of adventure on the high seas.” Old Salt Blog.

The year is 1802 and the Treaty of Amiens heralds a fragile peace in the war with France. While Britain’s fighting ships languish in ordinary, sailors litter the alleyways of Portsmouth, while half-pay officers struggle to survive as best they can.

From a beach, near his home on the Isle of Wight, Captain Oliver Quintrell observes a fleet of merchant ships preparing to sail. He is unaware he will soon have command of His Majesty’s frigate ELUSIVE which will sail from Spithead with them.

Entrusted with secret Admiralty orders, he heads south, but once the ship enters the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean, a series of devastating events occur and threaten to jeopardise his mission. For Captain Quintrell, the mumblings of a near mutinous crew, sabotage, murder most foul, and the dangers held within a simmering volcanic island, pose as much of a threat as a broadside from a French man-of-war.

Will the captain succeed in his mission? Will he retrieve the ‘prize’ he was sent to search for? Will he, and his ship, return safely to England?

FLOATING GOLD is the first book in this maritime fiction series which features Captain Quintrell and his crew. The sequel, THE TAINTED PRIZE, will be published in September, 2012.

For more about this book go to: www.squidoo.com/floatinggold