Hickam, Homer The Keeper's Son

A cinematic World War 2 novel set on an island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks (fictitious Killakeet Island) and in the waters off Cape Hatteras during late 1941 and early 1942 just after America’s entry into the conflict. The author is particularly effective in describing the horrific toll German U-boats took on merchant vessels in the Cape Hatteras “Torpedo Alley” region. (Hickam also includes a strong prose description of a Murmansk Run convoy attack from the perspective of German U-boats.). His chief characters include a Coast Guard patrol boat captain (Lt. Josh Thurlow) and the German submarine commander with whom he duels for control of the sea lanes. The novel is marred, though, by a series of thoroughly implausible coincidences. These hijack Hickam’s plot, which is truly unfortunate given his strong evocation of and identification with Outer Banks maritime life during the crucial days of late 1941 / early 1942. Flaws aside, though, The Keeper’s Son is a high adventure yarn of the page-turning variety. Publicity released at the time that the novel was published indicates that this will be the first of a series of World War 2 Coast Guard novels by Hickam featuring Josh Thurlow.