I think it’s safe to say that I’ve gotten hooked on this series of World War II naval adventures by J.E. Macdonnell. THE PAWN is the third one I’ve read in the past few months, and it’s my favorite so far.
Commander Peter Bentley, captain of the Australian destroyer Wind Rode, is the protagonist of this one, although all the usual members of the supporting cast, most notably First Lt. Robert Randall and bosun’s mate William “Hooky” Walker, are also on hand. Bentley and Wind Rode tend to get the dirty jobs, and their assignment this time is the trickiest so far. The ship is supposed to hide out among some islands extremely close to the Japanese mainland so they can spy on a new super-battleship that’s supposed to be launched soon. Whenever they observe that the battleship has put out to sea, they’re supposed to break radio silence, transmit the code word PAWN, and then get out of there as fast as they can.
Naturally, things do not go as planned.
In fact, between Japanese submarines, natives who may or may not be hostile on one of the islands Wind Rode uses for concealment, and a terrible storm at sea, Bentley has his hands full just keeping the ship going and getting where he’s supposed to be. And then, Bentley and his crew find the biggest surprise of all waiting for them.
I don’t know what it is about Macdonnell’s prose. There’s nothing the least bit fancy about it. The writing just goes about its business in workmanlike fashion, but before you know it, you’ve read half the book. He really had the storyteller’s knack. Then you get to the last chapter of this one and it’s not only incredibly suspenseful, there are two stand-up-and-cheer moments.
I found THE PAWN to be hugely enjoyable, and if you enjoy war and/or naval adventure fiction, I give it a great big recommendation. You don’t have to have read any of the others in the series to know what’s going on. Even after only three books, I feel like these characters are old friends already. Published originally in paperback in Australia by Horwitz Publications, it’s available these days in an e-book edition from Piccadilly Publishing.
