Hunters in the Stream: A Riley Fitzhugh Novel
Going from a private investigator in Los Angeles to a naval officer in 1942 doesn’t seem to be much of a jump to Riley Fitzhugh. He’s very familiar with tough guys, intrigue, and violence, the same ingredients present onboard the sub chaser PC 475, aka USS Nameless to her crew. It’s a heavily armed little ship, captained by a crusty former enlisted man, Lieutenant Ted Ford, and its main mission is patrolling the waters around Cuba and the Bahamas for German U-boats.
Riley learns quickly as Executive Officer on the Nameless and fits in well under the competent, wise-cracking Ford. He also feels at home in the local bars in Havana, where he quickly encounters Marty Hemingway, young wife of the famous author. The electricity between her and Riley is a growing distraction from his main duties as his ship searches for a secret German supply base on Cuba’s sparsely inhabited coast.
Author Mort’s terse style is similar to some of Ernest Hemingway’s stories, especially in frequent long stretches of dialog between Riley and Captain Ford or Marty. The exchanges with Ford tend to dominate portions of the book, and with little advance of the story other than establishing the wit of Riley and the captain. The novel as a whole is heavy on dialog, with a corresponding shortage of description in places.
Mort has done an excellent job with shipboard routine, giving the reader an accurate feel for life aboard ship. On the other hand, characters and important plot elements lack full development, and suspense is often underplayed. It’s an interesting story, but something seems to be missing.
