Fearful Breakers

Will José be drawn into the dangerous life of a smuggler? Or settle down to a quiet life in his father’s shop in Havana?

In1760 Cuba, José Albañez, a free boy of color, resents his charming but unprincipled uncle Domingo’s pressure to join him to sea on one of his smuggling ventures. He would rather continue his studies at the Jesuit school and then follow his father into the joiner’s trade.

Instead, he finds himself struggling to master seamanship, lodging with a Jewish trading family on Jamaica in the aftermath of a slave revolt, and confronting kidnappers on Saint-Domingue. The arrival of a British fleet off of Cuba in 1762 forces him to decide where his future lies.

Chosen for the 2024 Goethe Book Awards Long List for Late Historical Fiction

”Filled with intriguing Cuban history and helmed by an engaging hero…” – Kirkus Reviews

”A compelling glimpse into Cuba’s past with a strong, easy to root for, protagonist.” — The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

Treacherous Shoal

José Albañez finds himself a prisoner of the British, taken to Charles Town in the colony of South Carolina. There, he worries about the fate of his family. Have they been killed or enslaved by the British? What will he be willing to do to return home and fine them?

Boisterous Waves

José Albañez, now calling himself Will McIntyre, seeks refuge in the Scottish Highlands and uncovers family secrets. He returns to the sea and finds himself in Boston, where brewing discontent with British rule and tangled relationships threaten his daughter’s safety.

Ocean Wild

Will McIntyre joins the struggle against the British crown, enlisting on a privateer. Secrets from the past threaten his freedom and his happiness.