John Pearce – serie

John Pearce's recent promotion means that he is finally free to follow his own wishes. But the same can't be said for his trio of closest friends. While Pearce is indulging himself in London, they are shipped off to the Mediterranean. Riddled with guilt over leaving them, Pearce vows to liberate them from the brutal tyrant they are serving under. His application to William Pitt finds him sailing off with secret dispatches for Admiral Lord Hood. But when Captain Ralph Barclay puts the lives of his crew at risk in his vain search for glory, Pearce is obliged to embark on a dangerous mission before he can free his friends.

It is 1793. John Pearce and his Pelicans are going home - to gain their freedom and put the treacherous Captain Ralph Barclay in the dock. Emily Barclay discovers Pearce has papers that would ruin her husband’s career and her future security. And then comes that dread thing: a fire aboard a wooden ship of war! Cast adrift, Pearce and his Pelicans find help from an unlikely source. Finally, back on British soil, they hope they have reached the end of their troubles, but with the documents missing, the real concerns have only just begun. Emily Barclay holds the key, but where do her loyalties lie?

Pressed into King George's navy for the second time in a month, John Pearce finds himself working aboard HMS Griffin, sailing the Channel in search of the numerous French privateers preying on English merchant ships. Pearce, however, has other things on his mind. He must find a way off the ship in order to rescue his ailing father from the dangers of revolutionary Paris. By inciting mutiny, he hopes to escape the ship unnoticed. But travelling to France, John Pearce discovers that his worst fears have become reality. All he can do is return to the Griffin—and exact his revenge.

1794. Lieutenant John Pearce is caught between a feuding trio of admirals. One puts him in a position of danger while another asks him to undertake a hazardous commission in order to protect his friends, the Pelicans. Meanwhile, Pearce is also trying to construct a perjury case against Admiral Ralph Barclay. Barclay's own wife has turned against him, but by law she cannot testify against her husband. Her cowardly nephew has become a pawn in the Admiral's game, the objective of which is to finally silence Pearce.

1794: In the wake of the Glorious First of June, Lieutenant John Pearce has pressing matters to attend to. He must undertake an urgent commission from Lord Hood, track down midshipman Toby Burns, and placate Emily Barclay. Meanwhile smugglers whose ship Pearce inadvertently stole are on his tail. And it is not only John Pearce who has his fair share of trouble. The triumphant Channel Fleet returns, but the battle is already the subject of controversy—and Ralph Barclay is accused of holding back from the action. Pearce turns the table on his enemies and sets off for the Mediterranean with Emily Barclay. He can only hope that his troubles will end along with his mission. But are they only just beginning?