For his fiction debut, nautical and travel author Máté (The Hills of Tuscany
) introduces antihero-adventurer, S.V. Dugger, working boat salvage in the Pacific Northwest until he rescues a ketch set loose in a storm, its owner's remains discovered the following morning. Dugger fixes the boat and falls for Kate, the wife of George Hay, an unscrupulous Indian artifacts collector. When Kate heads to the Canadian coast, it is unclear if she goes as a kidnap victim or willingly, but there's no doubt the two Kwakiutl Indians transporting her are bad news. Despite rumors of cannibalism, ghosts and barbaric rites, Dugger pursues them—accompanied by Nello, his half-Kwakiutl half-Italian mate; Charlie, the Chinese cook; and Kate's husband. They navigate dangerous waters, murderous enemies and Kwakiutl settlements, only to discover Charlie, a girl in boy's clothing, is not the only one on board who is not who she appears to be. Máté excels at descriptions of boats and coastal geography, enthralling with unlikely subjects like polishing wood, conveying a cargo of illegal immigrants and steering through fog. His evocations of Kwakiutl rituals are richly sensory, but strain credulity. His dialogue captures nautical camaraderie, but his secondary characters teeter on stereotype. And Kate proves so open to new experiences that Dugger might be better off losing her and keeping the boat. (May)
