Douglas Reeman is a one trick pony, but he performs his trick well, over and over and over. He gets at odd corners of the naval conflict during ww2 and crafts a nice thriller in that space. Here we have one of his darlings, a German merchant raider, running amok in the Indian Ocean. The Australians pit an overworked light cruiser against it and thus the drama begins. His main character, this time a young captain with the VC, is a bit of fresh air for Reeman, although he is unable to refrain from a love story to complicate matters, and this particular love story gets too much time devoted to it. There is a Nazi atrocity, which adds suitable grit and a satisfying climax. Really, this could be done as a film, it has that kind of clarity to the mind as you read it. If you like this one, you'll want more.
