High Water was Douglas Reeman's second novel, and it's unlike anything else of his I've read to date. While most of his books are set during World War II (or, if writing as Alexander Kent, during the Napoleonic wars), this one is set in the 1950s and doesn't involve war at all. Protagonist Philip Vivian, a World War II navy veteran, runs a charter business on his motor yacht Seafox out of Torquay harbour. But he can't pay his bills and he might lose his boat ... so he takes a questionable job because he trusts the old naval buddy in charge of the operation, and the payout will keep him solvent.

Of course, it can't be that simple.

The book quickly turns into a tense thriller involving counterfeit money, drug smuggling, treachery, deceit, police chasing the wrong guy, kidnapping and murder. Vivian proves to be a capable hero who takes a great deal of punishment and just keeps on coming. He might have been able to extricate himself from the situation without too much damage to himself, his boat or his reputation, but there's this girl....

Of course he meets a lovely young lady and immediately falls hard. She, too young, rich and pretty for the likes of Vivian, seems otherwise involved with a rich young man more to her station. Of course, he's not what he seems ... and Karen can't help but fall quickly in love with the rugged boatman.

It's an exciting book, with plenty of action and intrigue. Reeman rarely disappoints, and I thoroughly enjoyed High Water to its dramatic conclusion, although this certainly is not Reeman at his later best.

The book loses points on two counts, however. One is the ending, which relies on too many convenient happenstances to work. The other is the romance, which is based on a "love at first sight" spark that never feels earned by either party. I completely expected Karen to turn out to be a part of the evil plan, since that seemed the most reasonable explanation for her sudden, inexplicable passion for poor Vivian.

Well, I hope they lived happily ever after. It's a good book, and the Seafox likely continued to sail proudly in the aftermath of all that action.