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Sailing Thrillers
Dead Reckoning
When the rudder of a boat he designed is rumored to have caused the accident that killed his brother and another man, Charlie Agutter invites the prominent members of Poulteney's yachting scene for a demonstration in a sister craft, with near-disastrous results
- GenresMystery
229 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
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58 people want to read
About the author
Sam Llewellyn
103 books49 followersSam Llewellyn is a British author of literature for children and adults.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 23, 2018
Sam Llewellyn is an author I discovered in the late 1980s as a teenager. He wrote a series of suspense novels set in the British fishing village of Pulteney. The novels all have sailing as a backdrop, and by my recollection none of them feature the same protagonist.
I recently reread DEAD RECKONING, the first of the Pulteney sailing novels, published in 1987. It’s narrated by Charlie Agutter, from an old Pulteney family, making a nice living designing racing yachts. The novel opens with Charlie receiving a summons to the village’s lifeboat. A sailing yacht, Aesthete, has been caught in The Teeth—a dangerous stretch of reef just off shore. Charlie designed the stranded yacht, and it’s one of only two produced with a new light weight rudder. The dead sailor at the helm is Charlie’s brother.
It appears the rudder failed and a heavy sea dragged Aesthete into the Teeth shattering its hull. The accident hits Charlie hard. He and his younger brother were close and his business is threatened with collapse since most think his new rudder failed. Charlie’s certain the rudder was sabotaged, but the saboteur is a step ahead and Charlie can’t prove anything. The mystery is as much about motive as whodunit. Charlie isn’t sure why the rudder was tampered with; murder for its own sake—to kill his brother or the other man aboard the yacht—or an attempt to destroy him and his business by undermining the rudder design.
DEAD RECKONING is a wonderful suspense-adventure mystery. It was fairly (and correctly) compared to the work of Dick Francis by critics when it was released. A slim line suspense mystery with a sport setting. In this case yacht racing, but it is as much an adventure story as mystery, and it is seemingly influenced by the Alistair MacLean style adventure thriller. It is heavy on description, setting (weather is always an adversary), action and suspense, and light on dialogue and whodunit ponderings.
Pulteney is a perfect setting for the story. A boom town that was once a place where fishermen made their living from the sea, but it has been bought up by wealthy professionals and industrialists who use it as a place to moor yachts and brag about to their friends in the city. The rub between the old and new residents creates its own tension as Charlie works to solve the puzzle and catch the killer. He walks a tenuous line between both old and new, and isn’t quite trusted by either.
Everything works in DEAD RECKONING, but what sets it apart from its peers is the seamless weaving of both the culture and sport of yacht racing. The plot can’t be extricated from its background, and one without the other would be useless. The setting is exotic and familiar at once. The characters are smoothly realistic in shades of both likability and familiarity.
DEAD RECKONING was published more than 30 years ago and has held up remarkably well. Sam Llewellyn is back on my list of favorite writers.
I recently reread DEAD RECKONING, the first of the Pulteney sailing novels, published in 1987. It’s narrated by Charlie Agutter, from an old Pulteney family, making a nice living designing racing yachts. The novel opens with Charlie receiving a summons to the village’s lifeboat. A sailing yacht, Aesthete, has been caught in The Teeth—a dangerous stretch of reef just off shore. Charlie designed the stranded yacht, and it’s one of only two produced with a new light weight rudder. The dead sailor at the helm is Charlie’s brother.
It appears the rudder failed and a heavy sea dragged Aesthete into the Teeth shattering its hull. The accident hits Charlie hard. He and his younger brother were close and his business is threatened with collapse since most think his new rudder failed. Charlie’s certain the rudder was sabotaged, but the saboteur is a step ahead and Charlie can’t prove anything. The mystery is as much about motive as whodunit. Charlie isn’t sure why the rudder was tampered with; murder for its own sake—to kill his brother or the other man aboard the yacht—or an attempt to destroy him and his business by undermining the rudder design.
DEAD RECKONING is a wonderful suspense-adventure mystery. It was fairly (and correctly) compared to the work of Dick Francis by critics when it was released. A slim line suspense mystery with a sport setting. In this case yacht racing, but it is as much an adventure story as mystery, and it is seemingly influenced by the Alistair MacLean style adventure thriller. It is heavy on description, setting (weather is always an adversary), action and suspense, and light on dialogue and whodunit ponderings.
Pulteney is a perfect setting for the story. A boom town that was once a place where fishermen made their living from the sea, but it has been bought up by wealthy professionals and industrialists who use it as a place to moor yachts and brag about to their friends in the city. The rub between the old and new residents creates its own tension as Charlie works to solve the puzzle and catch the killer. He walks a tenuous line between both old and new, and isn’t quite trusted by either.
Everything works in DEAD RECKONING, but what sets it apart from its peers is the seamless weaving of both the culture and sport of yacht racing. The plot can’t be extricated from its background, and one without the other would be useless. The setting is exotic and familiar at once. The characters are smoothly realistic in shades of both likability and familiarity.
DEAD RECKONING was published more than 30 years ago and has held up remarkably well. Sam Llewellyn is back on my list of favorite writers.
May 30, 2019
This is a solid page turner, but I nevertheless only give it 3 stars. The protagonist is a rising designer and of competitive sailing yachts. At the start of the book one of his boats sinks, killing his brother and another man. He immediately suspects sabotage, and there are multiple suspects, all of whom are rivals or jealous of his chance at success. The problem is he is both too capable and too stupid. Despite no particular experience or expertise in investigating sabotage or murder or arson, he insists on solving the mystery alone, without ever cooperating with the police or taking anyone into his confidence. As a result, he repeatedly ends up in situations where he finds useful evidence, only to have it removed when he leaves it unattended, or he is knocked on the head because he had no backup and did not think to check for people following him. As the crimes and body count keeps piling up, he manipulates multiple people into helping him without ever letting them become true partners in his efforts. He even manages to convince the only person left who might back him with a new boat by assaulting him and temporarily taking him prisoner. And it works, of course. The solution at the end when the culprit is revealed seems to come out of nowhere.
For all that, it earns 3 stars because is moves briskly, and deftly introduces you to the world of competitive yacht racing as a backdrop for the story. If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable easy read and don't mind a few implausibilities along the way, it offers an engaging few hours.
For all that, it earns 3 stars because is moves briskly, and deftly introduces you to the world of competitive yacht racing as a backdrop for the story. If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable easy read and don't mind a few implausibilities along the way, it offers an engaging few hours.
May 14, 2020
Great yachting adventure
A little far fetched at times, but a great read. Ending slightly disappointing as it was a bit Agatha Christie ish, with explanations all round.
A little far fetched at times, but a great read. Ending slightly disappointing as it was a bit Agatha Christie ish, with explanations all round.
April 28, 2013
As someone has remarked, Sam Llewellyn is the Dick Francis of sailing. This is the first book in the series and it has endless death and destruction. I enjoyed the way Charlie Agutter went about investigating, but there were many brit and sailing terms that I just "sailed" over not knowing what they meant. Charlie is a sailboat architect and a racing sailor. When one of his boats goes down with his brother aboard, he needs to know why. When he discovers sabotage, he risks the sister boat to the same fate, with himself as captain. Charlie and his crew suffer numerous injuries and keep on going. I'd be willing to try another in the series, but since this is a book club selection, all of the library copies are out at the moment.
September 10, 2013
An excellent read! As many have described, Sam Llewelyn is aptly likened to Dick Francis!
There were enough twists to keep me guessing and the sea scenes were superb - if anything, too short and too few
There were enough twists to keep me guessing and the sea scenes were superb - if anything, too short and too few
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews