Apparently, the best way to save Alexander Kent's excellent Richard Bolitho series from a downturn in quality in the past few books was, surprisingly, killing off his protagonist.

Richard Bolitho, one of the best (fictional) naval heroes of the Napoleonic age, was one of my favorite characters in the genre. In recent books, however, he became obsessed with his mistress, had too many fallings out with his estranged wife and moped a lot about having to go to sea. The preceding novel, Sword of Honour, was downright depressing.

But he died at the end, felled by a French marksman's bullet, and his nephew Adam Bolitho, who has been a supporting character for much of the series, stepped into the spotlight. He, a frigate captain, is obviously in a much better position for action and adventure than his much older, tired, love-besotted uncle.

Unfortunately, what should have been Adam's time to shine was overshadowed by the specter of his famous uncle. The late admiral seems to lurk on every page, in every interaction and every decision made by the characters in the book. Everyone has a bit of sadness lurking at their shoulder that gets in the way of the story. And Kent -- who, don't get me wrong, can write an excellent novel when he tries -- seems to think readers are dying to know what happens next to the elder Bolitho's widow, his grieving (but quick to move on) mistress and everyone else who even tangentially knew the admiral. Me, I wanted to follow Adam into adventure on the high seas.

And, despite some missteps, Second to None restores much of the series' former glory in that vein. When the book veers from its focus on the late Richard, Adam enjoys a series of naval encounters on the high seas -- mostly with pirates off the northern coast of Africa, now that the war with France is over -- and deftly copes with the politics of serving under an unfriendly admiral. He has a good ship and a solid crew, and together they bring back a lot of what made earlier books in the series so darned good.

Unfortunately, Adam is also repeating an earlier mistake: getting involved with a married woman. Maybe this time it will work out better for him.