Captain George Holbrooke sets sail again in his frigate, HMS Argonaut, in Treacherous Moon, the 12th book in Chris Durbin's ongoing series. It's 1761, and once again the English government has decided it must relieve pressure on Hanover by striking the French at home. This time, their target is Belle Isle, a strategically important site off the coast of Brittany.

But Holbrooke's involvement this time deals primarily with military intelligence. There is a great deal of espionage in the book, with British agents and allies sneaking into France for information vital to the war effort. And, while Holbrooke personally is uncomfortable with that arm of the war effort, he finds himself wrapped up in more spycraft than he had hoped.

The campaign to capture Belle Isle requires a great deal of cooperation between the British army and navy, who famously do not get along; fortunately, Holbrooke has some experience bridging the gap. An Austrian officer of Holbrooke's acquaintance -- a former foe and current friend -- is key to Britain's clandestine efforts to garner secrets from French informants.

The story is bookended with two attempts by Holbrooke to foil dramatic efforts by the French to break several of their warships free of a British blockade at Vilaine Estuary, in the west of France, where they had been trapped since a major fleet action in 1759 in Quiberon Bay.

Holbrooke -- the younger of the two protagonists, a former lieutenant under Virginia-born Captain Edward Carlisle -- also has some personal issues to contend with in this book. Holbrooke, who married his sweetheart in Nor'west by North, the 10th book in the series, finds himself uncomfortable in his own home and awkward with his child. More importantly to the action at hand, an unexplained illness mars Holbrooke's final endeavors, fogging his brain and clouding his decisions although, of course, he rises to the occasion when required. That illness, I'm sure, will have consequences in an upcoming book.

Since Durbin -- a retired Royal Navy officer -- launched this self-published series in 2017, he's been churning out new books at a prolific rate. Beginning in 1756 in The Colonial Post-Captain, Durbin has now advanced his characters to the summer of 1761 -- during which time a great deal has occurred between England and France, both in the French & Indian War in their North American colonies, and in the broader Seven Years' War that spans the globe. Less than two years remains before that war's historic conclusion, and I'm eager to see what Durbin has to say about it ... and what will come afterwards, as tensions between England and the colonies begins to grow. This is a truly enjoyable series, and I hope Durbin can maintain his rapid publishing pace for a good long while!

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