Peter Stevens

1790 Paris. Commissaire Rouget Maison and Inspector Drabert investigate the case of the murdered clergy. Members of the clergy are being murdered, and suspects appear to be many including a female and a giant of a man.
An enjoyable historical mystery

Great story of the freeing of Finian convicts in Fremantle by an Irish-organised whaler. Let down by poor editing ("fairwell", "paperbarque") & errors with dates.
Read May 2007

I stumbled across this book in a second-hand bookstore without any knowledge of the Catalpa and its place in history. The story is an amazing one as are the protagonists involved. As the author needs to setup the context of the rescue and the political history of the tension between Britain and the Irish, it can be slow going at the start. However, the history is necessary to appreciate the boldness of the plan and the far reaching impact it had across the globe.