Second to None by Alexander Kent

Genre: Historical Fiction, Nautical Fiction

Setting: At sea and and in England during the summer of 1815.

First sentence: The midshipman stood beneath the cabin skylight, his body accepting the heavy motion of the ship around him.

This novel is the twenty-fourth of the author's Richard Bolitho series.  This series currently runs to thirty books.

In this series we have followed the exploits of the main character of the series, Sir Richard Bolitho.  We have followed his career from midshipman to Fleet Admiral.  Watched his glory at in battle, his duty to his country, and his unfortunate troubles with love.

Then, finally at the end of his illustrious life, a single French bullet robs him of life and love.

Now, the author follows the life and career of Sir Richard's nephew Adam Bolitho.

The war with France is over.  There are sailors and officers who have never known a time of peace.  the British Navy turns its attention to the pirates and slavers of North Africa.

Captain Bolitho and his crew are part of the fleet tasked with ridding the Mediterranean from the North African corsairs.

In between the naval sea battles, Adam Bolitho continues to have a complicated love life.  His first great love was the wife of one of his close friends.  Unfortunately, she died in a terrible cliffside accident.

Now, Adam has found another great love.  She too is the wife of another man.

Sprinkled between battles and love, the author gives us a glimpse of the rest of Sir Richard's "little crew".

This was an okay book.  It advanced the plot lines, and gave us a peek into the past .