Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - Run Afoul (Wiki Coffin Mysteries)

Run Afoul (Wiki Coffin Mysteries)
Run Afoul - Wiki Coffin Mysteries
Author: Joan Druett, Joan Druett
U.S. Exploring Expedition linguist Wiki Coffin sails with the famous convoy of ships toward Brazil, with no idea of the amazing events the fates and the winds have set in store for him. — As the great flagship Vincennes, under the dubious command of eccentric captain Charles Wilkes, leads the convoy toward a dramatic entrance in the port o...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780312353360
ISBN-10: 0312353367
Publication Date: 10/3/2006
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 5

4.1 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

cathyskye avatar reviewed Run Afoul (Wiki Coffin Mysteries) on + 2275 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The U.S. Exploring Expedition was a real expedition led by the eccentric Charles Wilkes. Expert maritime historian Joan Druett had the perfect idea to use this as the basis of a mystery series that would travel the world. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, A Watery Grave, and Shark Island, so it was well past time to move on to the third book. Run Afoul did not disappoint.

I've read Joan Druett's non-fiction, and this woman knows her stuff. Every time I pick up a Wiki Coffin mystery I learn something without ever feeling as though I'm sitting in a classroom. In one Wiki Coffin mystery, I learned about firing cannons and felt as though I had to duck and run for cover. In this one, I learned about one ship running afoul of another and the nasty but necessary procedure for ridding a ship of rats.

Run Afoul has an excellent mystery that kept me guessing, and I enjoyed watching Wiki trying to solve it. Speaking of the main character, he is a bit of a rogue. This is book three, and it looks as though the young man is going to have a woman in every port, but the romance is certainly not overdone. No, Run Afoul is about the mystery, the superb setting, the fascinating Wiki Coffin, and the sea. It's an unbeatable combination for any historical mystery lover.

(If you find yourself wanting to read more about the U.S. Exploring Expedition, one of my all-time favorite non-fiction books is Nathaniel Philbrick's Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842.)
Read All 2 Book Reviews of "Run Afoul Wiki Coffin Mysteries"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

cyndij avatar reviewed Run Afoul (Wiki Coffin Mysteries) on + 1031 more book reviews
I like the historical detail Druett puts into these books, she knows her stuff and works it into the book without being pedantic about it. I did feel the mystery plot was a little slow-paced, dragging out the death of the first murder victim for many pages. Wiki is an enjoyable character with his Maori half co-existing mostly happily with his American half. I also find it interesting how he's accepted (for the most part) in this society, I was mentally contrasting his situation with Barbara Hambly's protagonist Benjamin January, a "free man of color" in New Orleans same time period. The murder method was pretty cool especially if you know a little about what doctors/surgeons had available to them in those days. Druett's non-fiction book "ROUGH MEDICINE: SURGEONS AT SEA IN THE AGE OF SAIL" will absolutely curl your hair in horror. Good historical series.


Genres: