Retribution

Jon Hunt #7

by Larry Jeram-Croft

The seventh novel in the series, charting the career of Jonathon Hunt in the Royal Navy during the turbulent times of the end of the twentieth century.1995, the vicious war in the fragmented former Republic of Yugoslavia is moving to an end game. The United Nations have troops and observers in the country but are finding it impossible to act. Thrust into the maelstrom of rape, murder and ethnic cleansing, the newly promoted Captain Jonathon Hunt joins the UN Protection Force UNPROFOR and finds himself being drawn into the struggle. The only way the war is going to end is if the might of NATO becomes fully committed to stop the fighting. Jon plays a major part in the momentous events that finally convince the world that the war has to end. At the same time, investigations by MI6 allow him to finally discover the truth about why his wife died so tragically three years earlier. In both cases, retribution is called for.

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2016

About the author

Best selling author, Larry Jeram-Croft spent thirty years in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot and engineer. He then worked in industry for seven years before retiring. When he retired, he and his wife bought a yacht and went to live in the Caribbean. It was this experience that led to the idea for his 'Jacaranda trilogy'. The novels are based on true events in the West indies of Nelson's time and provide thrilling and exciting stories for all who love the sea and sailing. Brought up on the books of C S Forester and Patrick O'Brian he was surprised that no one was writing similar stories about the modern Royal Navy, especially with so much going on in previous decades. As he was himself a Lynx helicopter pilot during the Falklands War, he decided to start there, using his own extensive knowledge of the conflict. 'Sea Skimmer' was the result; a book based on many true stories, the main one being why the Argentinian Exocet missiles failed to explode. Directly involved in anti Exocet countermeasures and also with a grandstand seat of the final Exocet raid of the war, the book, although a novel, has an authenticity that cannot be bettered. More books have followed. The latest 'Diamant' is a historical novel set in 1805 about the Royal Navy setting up a garrison on Diamond Rock off Martinique an exercise that almost brought Nelson and the French together well before Trafalgar.
In addition to his fiction, last year he published his first non- fiction work, an operational history of the RN Lynx helicopter. Another about the RN Wasp helicopter is due out this year.
Larry now lives in Martock, Somerset and spends most of his time writing and playing golf extraordinarily badly.

You can keep up to date on his blog at: http://sowethereyet.blogspot.co.uk/

Reviews

[John A. Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this instalment of the Jon Hunt saga, we find him posted to the wreckage of what once was Yugoslavia. Amid the fighting between the various sides, Hunt is part of the UN observation force, a group severally hamstrung by their strict rules of engagement. Ethnic cleansing, murder, rape and torture are every day occurrences, but Hunt is not allowed to act. As one might expect, he finds himself in the middle of things, and when he stumbles across a local being tortured, he uncovers something that will force the world and NATO to take note.
A side-line in this is that he uncovers further information about the death of his wife in a car accident a few years previously (sorry bit of a spoiler for one of the earlier books), and the two events are interwoven together to a final conclusion.

A reasonable outing for Hunt. A couple of the books are a bit slow, but in this case the action starts reasonably quickly and does not let up. There is far less of the navy in this one, as Hunt's works with the UN Protection Force in the Balkans, but that's fine. The story is good, the one-off characters reasonably sympathetic (in some cases) and overall this is a good addition to Hunt's career.

[Kathy Fritschi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grim resolve

I like the plot, combining spy thriller with war crime investigation with lots of drama & action. Good to see UK purged of traitors.