Taylor, Theodore. (1907-1997) To Kill the Leopard

Above par Battle of the North Atlantic novel which focuses on Sullivan Jordan, an American tanker First Mate (and subsequently captain of a Q-Ship masquerading as a tanker) who has two of his ships torpedoed from under him by the same German U-boat commander. After seeing so many of his comrades die, Sullivan vows revenge on the responsible U-boat. Improbably, Sullivan is given command of an American Q-Ship (a warship masquerading as merchantman) which finally destroys his nemesis. A back plot involves French Resistance espionage and sabotage at the U-boat base in Lorient, France. Taylor’s depiction of the German U-boat commander is very retro, reading almost as if it had been written at the height of hostilities: the Nazi is depicted as arrogant, vile, despicable, even sadistic. Indeed, the commander is described by one of his own men as being “an obsessed lunatic” — and another calls him a “human shark.”