Red Gold: The Seventeenth Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventure

by Chris Durbin

When, near the end of the Seven Years War, Edward Carlisle’s ship Dartmouth was lost on the shoals inside Cape Henry, he envisaged himself settling down to the life of a wealthy gentleman in Virginia’s capital, Williamsburg, with his wife Chiara. He wouldn’t seek another ship, and he wouldn’t pester their Lordships of the Admiralty; his seagoing days were over. However, it was not to be. He’d always known that there was some dark secret in Chiara’s past, and news from Sardinia made it imperative that it should no longer be ignored.
Carlisle embarks on an expedition to a remote corner of the Mediterranean, together with the loyal followers who stayed with him when his ship was lost. It seemed such a simple task, nothing compared to the adventures that he had experienced in the service of King George. Simple, until the full extent of the tortuous and deadly politics of the Angelini family are revealed.
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The seventeenth novel in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series is the first in which our hero experiences a world without war, and the first in which he has to contemplate a life outside the navy, with its uncertainties and its opportunities.

323 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2025

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Chris Durbin - Historical Fiction, History

Reviews

[John Rosenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun story- right up there with best of the Carlisle and Holbrook stories. Lots of intricate details about geography, navigation and seamanship, combined with non-military intrigue, makes this a worthwhile twist on the story arc. Looking forward to the book 18 of the series.

[Steven Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the Revolutionary War winding down, it's not surprising for Mr. Durbin's readers to wonder what will happen in the later novels. (We already know from the foreword or afterword of the first few books that he planned to continue the series into the time period after the United States became independent). In this book, Mrs. Ciara Carlisle receives notice that her aunt has died and she and her nephew, Enrico(?), who has been sailing with the captain as a midshipman, have inherited what's left of her estate. The aunt's money is hidden on an island off the coast of Sardinia where Lady Chiara lived at one time. (Somehow the title died with the aunt, I didn't quite follow this thread, but Mrs. Carlisle is an aristocrat.) While this is a bit hackneyed, I mean really, buried treasure, family secrets, intrigue? Nevertheless, the author carries it off and has the captain charter an armed merchant ship, crews her with unemployed sailors off the American privateering and merchant fleets, and sails to the Mediterranean to repair his and her fortunes after the wreck of his last Navy ship, HMS Dartmouth.
Because the plot is a little improbable I only gave this book 4 stars, but it's well written and engaging and worth your time. Will there be another book in the series? Maybe.

[Phillip Mclaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

post Seven Years War, Carlisle on the beach but…

With the end of the war, Carlisle is ill, his ship is lost, and he is on the beach at half pay, after a court martial. As luck would favor him the interests in a shipping concern puts the few characters on a personal quest for his wife’s legacy.
Good story, continuing characters and adventures with pirates, assassins and ugh Italian lawyers.
Highly recommend

[Jim Purcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The war is in abeyance, so let's hunt for treasure. Family intrigue and some corsair hunting round out the story. In the canon, but not particularly exciting.

[Michael Kepnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine touch

The storyline is as captivating as the other books in the series. It was a good blend of peace and a side of war.