The biography of Ronald Burns, who served as a Royal Navy DEMS gunner aboard merchant ships during WWII. His first ship, SS Empire Drum was torpedoed in the Atlantic and he and his fellow shipmates spent thirteen days adrift in a lifeboat. Shortly after being rescued, he served aboard rescue ship, SS Rathlin, which sailed with the infamous convoy, PQ17 to Russia. What Ron witnessed was carnage and devastation beyond belief. This is his story.
The year is 1944. After five hard-fought years, the Allies are close to victory. But Germany still has one last secret - and one that could still turn the war in its favour. Travelling on a U-boat to Japan is a highly explosive uranium bomb, the first of its kind. But why are the Nazis giving such a precious weapon to the Japanese? And where might the Japanese use it? In London, Special Operations Executive Captain Maddox is given a simple task. Stop the U-boat at all costs. A British, French and American team is assembled for the mission. They will strike a mysterious island controlled by the Nazis where the U-boat is scheduled to stop. But nothing about this job is what it appears to be. The British, the French and the Americans all have their own agendas -- and so do the Germans. And none of them involve Captain Maddox making it to the end of the war alive. 'Blood Red Sea' is a full-throttle World War Two thriller that combines meticulous research with gripping story-telling to create a memorable tale of action and adventure. It is perfect for fans of Jack Higgins and Alistair MacLean. 'An explosive action thriller that throws new light on WWII'.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'The Dante Conspiracy'. Jack Hayes is an author and journalist living in London.
A Dan Shaw Thriller In this enticing thriller, Dan Shaw risks the deep waters of wealth, deception, and murder off the Gold Coast to see rustic done for a beautiful woman. Dan Shaw has been practicing law only four months and he’s already burned out. Add the fact that he’s just lost his longtime girlfriend and the cops are scouring his dubious past, and it’s no wonder that Shaw decides to set sail for the summer and get away from it all. But even alone in the middle of the sea, trouble finds him—in the enticing form of Katherine Adams. When Shaw hauls her out of the ocean, she’s naked, nearly drowned, and has little memory as to how she got that way. But the real story is even more twisted. Her husband, Cesar Cardinal, is a diplomat, a playboy, and a high-stakes gambler. He’s feigned his wife’s suicide at sea and taken their young son to a heavily armed compound in the Dominican Republic, where U.S. law can’t touch him. But that’s not going to stop Shaw, who can’t deny his feelings for Katherine. From Bell Harbor to Santo Domingo, he’s baiting a trap with his own life . . . and there’s no telling what he’ll catch.
Two unlikely English heroes are swept up in an epic and bloody sea battle that will change history. PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS CLASH OF EMPIRES: THE RED SEA. 1571. Chained to a slave galley in the heart of the Mediterranean, it seems that English adventurers Ingoldsby and Hodge might have finally run out of luck. But as former Knights of St John, they've survived worse, and while the men around them drop dead at their oars, they're determined to escape. By a miracle of fate, they find their way back to dry land and freedom - but unable to return home. With the Ottoman Empire set on strangling the crusading Christian power before it can take root, hostilities between East and West - Muslim and Christian - are vicious and deadly. And as the sun rises on one day in October, five hours of bloodshed will change the course of history. Once again, the two Englishmen find themselves living on borrowed time... PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS CLASH OF EMPIRES: THE RED SEA
After Italy's surrender to the Allies in September 1943, German naval forces took control of the entire Aegean, and the resulting guerrilla war in the narrow seas and littoral waters would continue to rage until the general peace. Naval warfare in the narrow seas is different from naval actions on the high seas, requiring different types of ships and craft and different mindsets. In the cramped and narrow inshore waters, which can easily be dominated from the shore, sea mines, shore-based air support, and small submarines play a major role. An analysis of the battle for the Aegean provides a good example of the types of fighting the U.S. Navy might face in a future conflict, now that grande guerre on the high seas has become more and more unlikely. In attempt to assist an embattled Greece, the British Mediterranean Fleet fought the Italians and the Germans in a valiant effort to hold the Aegean. By the time Italy left the war in 1943, the Allies' big battalions and mighty fleets were being transferred to other more pressing campaigns, leaving behind the remaining small craft to take up the fight. Adopting a policy of pinning down those Germans garrisoning the Aegean, the British resorted to the use of raiding and coastal forces, a tactic which would eventually force the Germans from all but their most key positions.
Fourteen-year-old Libby didn't want to go on a year long sailing adventure with her mother and her stepfather, Duncan, and she isn't about to let them forget it. Traveling through the Red Sea, Libby causes them to be late and make a dangerous crossing alone. When modern-day pirates attack, Duncan is killed and Libby's mother is left seriously injured and unconscious. Libby is left alone on a crippled boat to find safety and help for her mother. Libby must call on all her strength and face some hard truths about herself if she is to survive and reach land. A thrilling tale of one girl's struggle for survival against the elements and her inner demons, Red Sea is adventure writing at its best.
Tomi was born in Hawaii. His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty. World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats. But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.
As the town of Black Stone Bay prepares for its annual Halloween celebration, the residents soon realize that this year will be different when a stranger arrives, armed with an insatiable thirst and a plan for a night no one is meant to survive.
