Larcum Mudge is an unusual title for the eighth book in Philip K. Allan's ongoing Alexander Clay series of novels set during the long-running war between England and France at the close of the 18th century. Mudge, it turns out, is the name of a character but, cover status notwithstanding, he doesn't really have all that much to do with the plot. He does make some pivotal appearances, granted, but not enough to warrant the title, in my view.

I won't reveal here why he's important to the story, even though you might guess his secret fairly early on; it's not all that closely guarded a secret, after all.

But the focus here is on Captain Alexander Clay, who is in command of the frigate Griffin. Fresh off service in the Baltic Sea, and with the war with France seemingly headed toward peace (at least temporarily), Clay is ordered to the Caribbean to hunt for the formerly British frigate Peregrine, until recently captained by a brutal man who overused the lash and turned his crew against him. After a particularly bloody mutiny, most of the Peregrine's crew managed to vanish into the wind, but not before selling their stolen ship to the French.

While others are tasked with finding and punishing the mutineers, Clay and the Griffin are ordered to find Peregrine and recapture it, removing the stigma of the cursed ship in French hands. Finding it might not be all that difficult, it turns out ... but taking it is another story.

Allan has already proven himself to be a master of nautical fiction, and this tale is no different. Larcum Mudge features a handful of notable actions, including a desperate battle in a sheltered bay in Guadeloupe and a fierce running fight with a powerful French ship-of-the-line. Allan truly excels with descriptions that put readers right at the heart of the action.

The climax of the book neatly coincides with the Treaty of Amiens, the short-lived peace that forestalled hostilities between England and France for just over a year. Although the book ends with Clay, his officers and crew ashore home in England (and unemployed), readers will know that war will resume again soon ... and this time, Napoleon will be better prepared.

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