Coaster

by George Foy

When his freighter "Witch of Fraddam" is lost in heavy seas and the insurance company refuses to honor the claim, maverick captain John Penrose uncovers corruption at the highest level of Lloyd's, a discovery that puts his life in danger

326 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 1986

Reviews

[Tim Ganotis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just kept going. Some nice prose and turns of phrases, but much time spent on details that don't matter. The plot could be good if you cut out several of the twists; there seems to be a new wrinkle in every other chapter and it's exhausting. Much like several short story ideas crammed together into one barely coherent novel. Some good but mostly too much junk.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ocean related novels - John Penrose, who is at home in Mayfair, has left the wealthy arms of his beauteous wife Selina, and the charms of her vastly rich father, Sir Norman Courtenay, to indulge himself as owner-captain of a coastal freighter, The Witch of Fraddam. One morning in Wales he's spotted stark naked in the home (and by implication bed) of a colliery foreman's wife. As a present to Penrose, the foreman (named Morgan) has wet coal loaded onto The Witch, and when the freighter hits a terrific storm midway across the English Channel, the now-liquid cargo bursts its hold and sinks the ship. The storm and the ship's sinking are rendered with enormous energy and sting. Once ashore, Penrose receives a phone call telling him hereafter "to keep your organ out of Morgans in Glamorgan." Putting in for his ship's insurance, he discovers that Lloyd's of London's underwriters will not pay off. Shocked, Penrose contacts his journalist friend Timothy Harewood to help him break Lloyd's resistance. Harewood soon finds that Lloyd's is tied in with all sorts of false reinsurance banking scams--but Harewood is murdered.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was ready to 'abandon ship' on this book after some 20 pages... Iinbetween the British lingo and the nautical jargon. I did, however, stick it out because - who would guess - this author just excels in figurative language and dead-on similes! I'll admit I almost floundered again in explanations of the financial skullduggery, but was swept on by the excellent pacing of suspense elements in the novel. It really kept you on the edge of your seat!