I was quite sure Leonora Nattrass must have read O’Brian and when I reached the acknowledgements at the end of the book I found that I was right! His secret mission is to aid the civil servant charged with carrying an important treaty to Congress, which will hopefully prevent the Americans from joining with the French in their war against Britain. The Jay Treaty, negotiated by Theodore’s father, the American envoy John Jay, is designed to promote peace between the two nations and prevent America from joining forces with France against Britain.

A gripping mystery full of suspicious characters and places to hide aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic. The journey is hazardous, with bad weather and pirates to avoid, plus a French ship which has been tasked with retrieving the treaty.Laurence is travelling under the pretence of being an assistant to Mr Philpott, who is a journalist. It’s great to have these familiar faces reunite with Laurence Jago, while also getting to know them better.

Trying to work out who was behind the disappearance of the Treaty and having suspicions about each and every character aboard, I was well and truly sucked into the story.Jago is assisting a civil servant to safely carry an important Treaty to Congress that will prevent the Americans from joining with the French to wage war against Britain. It is his great chance to redeem himself at Whitehall – except that his predecessor has taken the secret of the treaty’s hiding place to his watery grave. Nattrass's nautical detail is most effective, never overplayed and just as satisfying as any of the C. There were a few red herrings, which Nattrass focused on a bit too much, meaning the ultimate reveal felt a bit underwhelming. Although given what I said before, the main character seems a bit too foolish to play the part of clever youngster.

A failed solicitor, he is drifting through life – the office, the pub, a barely furnished flat, lacklustre relationships. A delightful and immersive read which follows neatly on from Black Drop which I read last year (but can be read as a stand-alone). This is the secret report of disgraced former Foreign Office clerk Laurence Jago, written on the mail ship Tankerville en route to Philadelphia. Leonora Nattrass lectured on the literature and politics of the 18th century for almost ten years before running away to Cornwall, where she now lives in a seventeenth-century house with seventeenth-century draughts and knits the wool of her small flock of Ryeland sheep into complicated jumpers.And yes, you could read Blue Water as a standalone but why would you want to miss out on his first foray in the corridors of power and such deliciously dark yet authentic historical fiction?

Blue Water is a compelling locked room murder-mystery filled with an exquisitely drawn cast of eccentric characters. With President Eisenhower due to pay his first state visit, Rose, who had a hand in the assassination of “the Leader” a couple of years earlier and is surprised to be still at liberty, is tasked with meeting Queen Wallis for a background briefing.

This is a good historical thriller which gains momentum and more excitement as the ship's voyage progresses. And Grenville has also given him another task: to ensure that the important treaty Jay is carrying to the USA gets there safely.