The Keeper Author:John G. Ives THE KEEPER by John G. Ives is fresh, new historical fiction at its very best. Filled with electrifying rescue scenes, pitting a handful of men against fierce storms and bitter cold... A story of honor and love, fellowship and betrayal, strength and vulnerability... This is a novel of the Life-Savers. — Set in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod,... more » in 1899. Joshua Duell, the book's hero, is a young New Yorker who returns home from the Spanish American War, where he lost his brother. Now his mother has disappeared in a mysterious shipwreck, and he travels to the small fishing village at the outer reach of the continent to find out how. With his friend and college roommate Buddy, Joshua joins the United States Life-Saving Service, which patrolled the beaches in winter storms and saved 175,000 lives during its brief history.
Under the leadership of John MacDonald, their wizened, heroic leader known as the Keeper, they face rigorous training and treacherous work as the storms come. Buddy is a charmer, but he alienates the other Life-Savers, which leads him to take drastic actions he and Joshua will come to deeply regret. Injured in his first rescue, Joshua meets the strong and independent Julia, a woman doctor, which was rare in that time. But their greatest troubles begin with the appearance of Kirov, a Russian salvager who draws Buddy into a dangerous game of greed and violence. A story of intense action, beautiful descriptions of the sea, and the coming of age of a fascinating young man.« less