De Hartog, Jan The Distant Shore

A riveting, two-part novel from the viewpoint of a young Dutch captain of sea-going rescue tugboats. Part I takes place during World War 2 and focuses on the rescue of disabled convoy vessels in the North Atlantic. The novel’s second part, subtitled “Peace,” finds our hero engaged in an illegal Mediterranean underwater salvage operation involving a team of “fanatical divers” (to quote the book’s jacket blurb). While both parts are well-written, the World War 2 scenes are truly outstanding.