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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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THE DEVIL IN PARADISE

James L. Haley

Captain Putnam in Hawaii

Captain Bliven Putnam returns, venturing into the Pacific to fight pirates in Malaya and match wits with the royals in Hawaii, in this next installment of award-winner James L. Haley's gripping naval saga.
Following the naval victories of the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War, the United States is finally expanding its navy to take a place of prominence in world affairs. Bliven Putnam, now Captain of the sloop of war Rappahannock, has come into his own as a leader and is ordered to the Pacific. But with this new tour of duty to last more than two years, his patient wife, Clarity, unwilling to accept such a brief time together, at last puts her foot down. If she can't keep Putnam with her, then she'll just have to go with him.

As Putnam sets sail for his new home port in Honolulu, Clarity joins a new missionary effort from Boston to Hawaii. On their respective paths, the Putnams encounter a new breed of pirate and meet an unexpected force of nature: Kahumanu, the formidable queen of the Hawaiian Islands. Inspired by the real-life Olowalu Massacre and the famed Congregationalist mission of 1819, this third outing will be unlike any adventure the Putnams have faced before.

James L. Haley is the award-winning author of The Shores of Tripoli and A Darker Sea, as well as numerous books on Native American, Texas, and Western history, and historical and contemporary fiction. His two biographies, Sam Houston (2002) and Wolf: The Lives of Jack London (2010), each won the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. Passionate Nation: The Epic History of Texas (2006) won the Fehrenbach Award of the Texas Historical Commission. His most recent nonfiction is Captive Paradise: A History of Hawaii (2014).
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Published 2019-10-22 by Putnam

Comments

"Some native Hawaiians today might argue that Captain Putnam was misguided in searching for pirates in the South Pacific, because the real pirates had already arrived in Hawaii under the guise of religion." Read more...

James L. Haley sits down with fellow writer Larry Brill for an interview. Read more...

Brimming with Haley's signature delight in nautical detail and suspense, this entertaining tale stokes readers' expectations for more of Putnam's high-sea exploits.

Haley spins a rousing naval yarn laced with action against slavers, a new breed of pirate, and an enraged sea captain seeking vengeance. An intimate understanding of Hawaiian history recounted through well-drawn, three-dimensional characters enriches his narrative. The Bliven Putnam novels bring a refreshing point of view to naval fiction, with a marked Yankee flavor.