Honorable Lies

Honor/Peter Wake #10

by Robert N. Macomber

It’s September 1888, and Commander Peter Wake, Office of Naval Intelligence, has five days to rescue his two captured operatives from a dungeon in Spanish colonial Havana. But his plan quickly falls apart on the first day when long-time nemesis Colonel Isidro Marrón, head of Spanish counter-intelligence, springs a deadly trap that Wake can’t avoid. Huguenots, Freemasons, the beautiful actress Sarah Bernhardt, the re-election of President Grover Cleveland, and Cuban patriot José Martí are all part of the desperate action as Peter Wake uses innovation and experience to defy the odds.

Series: The Honor Series of Naval Historical Fiction, which covers the life and career of Commander Peter Wake from 1863 to 1908, a time when the United States Navy helped America become a global power. Honorable Lies is tenth in the series.

Genres: Fiction

400 pages, ebook

First published September 15, 2012

About the author

Robert N. Macomber is a multi-award winning author, internationally acclaimed lecturer, former Dept. of Defense consultant, adventurous expedition leader, an accomplished seaman, and a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books. He was named “2020 Florida Writer of the Year” by the FL Writers Association

His reputation for historical detail, engaging plots, distinctive characters, helpful maps, extensive bibliographies, and educational endnotes creates eager readers and listeners alike.

He is best known for his "Honor Series", the popular maritime thrillers which describe the life and career of his protagonist, a U.S. naval officer, Peter Wake, from the American Civil War in Florida, beyond the Spanish-American War in 1898, and well into 2023.

When not traveling for research treks, lecture tours, or book signings, Macomber enjoys cooking exotic cuisines inspired by his novels and sailing quietly among remote islands.

Reviews

[Bonsaiforlife · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the cover I thought this book was going to be a tale of nautical exploits in the Caribbean. I think one of the descriptive quotes on the back was this is Obrien of the Caribbean, yet they have not set sail yet and so far the plot revolves on Cuba. The book started off kinda slow like it was searching for a way to tell the story. One point has the book telling about the main character who is telling about his partner. It was kinda weird to read that way but was fine. Halfway through things are getting more exciting and it seems like less page filling and more good page turning plot.

This is a book I received free from LibraryThing's early reviewers program. Looking forward to discovering a new author in the realm of nautical fiction. This one is set in the Caribbean.

Things started off slow for me. I have not read any other on the "Honor" series and did not have any background on them, but it still worked as a stand alone book. Once the plot started to heat up the book read much better culminating in a great action packed end. I enjoyed the final half of the book and found myself wanting to read the other Honor books when the last page turned. Macomber had alot of info in the book on Cuba that really fit in nicely to the plot making the story more readable and "believeable".

Looking forward to the others in the series and more nautical stories. This book was mostly set inland on Cuba and only had shorts jaunts into the water.

[Michael Shayeson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner. Sometimes feels like the events that Wake and Rork encounter are beyond reality, but Macomber anticipates this and inserts an explanation that answers the plausibility concerns. Very clever.