A Ship Must Die

From a prolific veteran: another sharply plotted sea story that should appeal to naval warfare buffs. Captain Richard Blake has won the Victoria Cross for commanding a British destroyer - he has brilliantly disabled three German-staffed super-cruisers - but his home life has suffered because of his dedication, and his selfish wife has become pregnant by an older, high-ranking officer she wants to marry. And now Blake is given command of a ship undergoing swift repairs, the Andromeda, which is being sent into the Indian Ocean to stop the marauding of a German raider ship that always disguises itself as the commercial ship it has most recently sunk, changing its flag and putting up false stacks. Because of the rapidity of the raider's movements and its disregard for refueling necessities, Blake determines that the single raider is actually two raiders pretending to be a lone wolf. So, finally, despite opposition from his commanding officer, he uses a decoy commercial ship to attract the two raiders, encountering the Germans for a big shootout that is even bloodier than his apocalyptic VC big-guns duel. And along the way, he finds a better woman - a lovely W.R.E.N. with whom he shares a rubber raft (circled by sharks) after their seaplane is shot down. Head-ringing action with boilerplate flying everywhere, vigorous enough to compensate for the absolutely standard characterizations. (Kirkus Reviews)