The Hammond Innes Collection Volume One

The Wreck of the Mary Deare, Wreckers Must Breathe, and The Land God Gave to Cain

A trio of compelling classics of adventure and suspense—featuring ***The Wreck of the Mary Deare—***from “Great Britain’s leading adventure novelist” (Financial Times).

British novelist Hammond Innes was perhaps best known for his nautical mystery, The Wreck of the Mary Deare, which was made into a film starring Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston. But the prolific writer, World War II veteran, and dedicated yachtsman wrote over thirty novels of adventure and suspense over his long career. The two additional novels collected here tell the tales of a World War II plot and a rescue on the frozen Labrador Peninsula. As always, “the art of writing thoroughly well-documented and ably-written thrillers is perfectly understood by Innes, whose work stands in a class by itself” (V. S. Pritchett).

The Wreck of the Mary Deare: Capt. John Sands has only moments to steer his sailboat clear of a freighter coming out of nowhere on a foggy night. He catches a glimpse of the ship as it passes by: Her name is Mary Deare, and her crew is nowhere to be seen. A salvage expert, Sands boards the drifting hulk and finds only one man aboard: the first officer, Gideon Patch, half-mad from trying to sail the freighter on his own. Getting the ship safely to port and unraveling the mystery of why it was abandoned will reveal an incredible story of greed and betrayal on the high seas.

“Original in its plot and extraordinarily clever in its constant succession of mysterious twists and surprising revelations, it is an utterly engrossing tale.” —The New York Times

Wreckers Must Breathe: This prescient World War II adventure, written early on in the war in 1940, concerns a German U-boat hiding off the coast of Cornwall. Journalist Walter Craig is on a seaside vacation as reports come in of German mobilization, and England finds herself on the brink of war. Cruising in a small fishing vessel, Craig and charter boat captain Big Logan nearly collide with a shadowy black shape. Along this rocky stretch of the English Channel, these two men just found themselves on the front lines . . .

“An uncommonly good story, capitally written.” —London**Evening Standard

The Land God Gave to Cain: In this “literate and exciting adventure story,” a young man risks his life to respond to a distress call on Canada’s Labrador Peninsula (Kirkus Reviews). After Ian Ferguson’s father was wounded in World War II, his ham radio was all he had left to communicate with. When Ian finds his father’s last transmission—a call for help from a survivor of a lost expedition—he journeys across a frozen landscape to save the man’s life . . . and honor his father.

“Innes makes one shiver with cold. . . . Original plot, plenty of action, spectacular scenery.” —The New York Times