Wiki Coffin Mysteries
5 primary works
Book 1
The year is 1838, and after more than ten years in the planning, the famous United States Exploring Expedition is set to launch into uncharted waters from the coast of Virginia. A convoy of seven ships filled with astronomers, mapmakers, naturalists, and the sailors charged with getting them around the world, the "Ex. Ex." is finally underway, with much fanfare. Aboard the convoy as ship's linguist is Wiki Coffin. Half New Zealand Maori and half American, Wiki speaks numerous languages and is expected to help the crew navigate the Pacific islands that are his native heritage. But just before departure Wiki, subject to the unfortunate bigotry of the time, is arrested for a vicious murder he didn't commit. The convoy sails off, but just before the ships are out of reach Wiki is exonerated, set free to catch up with his ship and sail on. The catch: the local sheriff is convinced that the real murderer is aboard one of the seven ships of the expedition, and Wiki is deputized to identify the killer and bring him to justice.
Book 2
Wiki Coffin, linguist aboard the U.S. Exploring Expedition, the famous voyage meant to put America at the fore-front of 19th century scientific discovery, brings many skills to his job. Whether he's translating native languages, assisting his good friend Captain George Rochester as unofficial first mate, or upholding the rule of law as deputy to the sheriff of the port of Virginia, Wiki is never far from the action aboard the seven ships that make up the expedition. But, when they encounter a wrecked sealing ship and its desperate crew on the shoals of remote, uninhabited Shark Island, Wiki has little idea just how many of his skills are about to be put to the test. As soon as they board the wreck, a dead body turns up with a dagger firmly inserted between its shoulder blades. And it's not just any dead body: the victim of the brutal murder is none other than the enigmatic captain of the doomed voyage. What's more, Wiki's colleague and nemesis Lieutenant Forsythe is suspected of the crime. Knowing full well that Forsythe is capable of such violence, Wiki nonetheless believes him innocent and is duty-bound to prove it for the good of the expedition.
Was the murder a case of mutinous sealers taking the law into their own hands? Did the secrets of several mysterious long-ago voyages finally come back to haunt a dishonest and dishonorable captain? Or is Shark Island home to something more sinister than a few lonely goats? Something isn't quite right about the crew of the wrecked ship, and Wiki will stop at nothing to find out just what it is that they're hiding, and, in the process, unmask a vicious killer.
Was the murder a case of mutinous sealers taking the law into their own hands? Did the secrets of several mysterious long-ago voyages finally come back to haunt a dishonest and dishonorable captain? Or is Shark Island home to something more sinister than a few lonely goats? Something isn't quite right about the crew of the wrecked ship, and Wiki will stop at nothing to find out just what it is that they're hiding, and, in the process, unmask a vicious killer.
Book 3
In this third seafaring mystery from nautical historian 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 of Rio, careless manoeuvring causes one of the vessels to run afoul of a Boston trading ship - a shocking embarrassment that none of the sailors aboard is likely to live down during their time in port.As it turns out, the trader is owned and commanded by the famous and larger-than-life Captain William Coffin, father to Wiki and sailor of all seven seas as well as another dozen or so he's managed to invent in his years of telling tall tales.
The encounter sets in motion a series of confounding events that reunites the elder Coffin with his illegitimate half-Maori son and that, before they are through, will see two men dead, Coffin on trial for murder, and Wiki working feverishly to unmask the real killers before the expedition sails on, leaving his father at the mercy of an unforgiving Brazilian court - and Wiki's own tenuous grip on family hanging desperately in the balance.
The encounter sets in motion a series of confounding events that reunites the elder Coffin with his illegitimate half-Maori son and that, before they are through, will see two men dead, Coffin on trial for murder, and Wiki working feverishly to unmask the real killers before the expedition sails on, leaving his father at the mercy of an unforgiving Brazilian court - and Wiki's own tenuous grip on family hanging desperately in the balance.
Book 4
Wiki Coffin plays many roles on the U.S. Exploring Expedition linguist, navigator, and, as half-Maori, cultural liaison - but when a New England whaler shows up, frantically looking for his stolen schooner, Wiki must take on the role of unofficial sheriff. The Expedition has reached the Rio Negros, an area famous for its rough gauchos and revolutionary spirit - men have disappeared here without a trace.Wiki hunts for the Machiavellian trader who sold the ship, but when the trail leads to a dead body, skull picked clean by vultures and half-buried in a hill of salt, he must use all his wits to find the missing ship - and the murderer. No one is what they seem on the Rio Negro, and while Wiki is distracted by a confusing case of mistaken identities the murderer has set his sights on another target: the U.S. Exploring Expedition itself.
Book 7
