Episode notes
This is a 17 long Audible, one hour per chapter story about life aboard a navy combat cargo ship, where the murder of a navy skipper occurs. The main character is Lieutenant Bob Cantley, who is a maverick supply corps officer. The story takes place in the early 1980s and takes the listener from Bob's entry into the navy through his first ship and onward to his final ship, where he meets up with a ruthless navy skipper, Captain Manzack, known as the Spine Ripper. The Spine Ripper is an abusive skipper, much like Captain Qweeg in Herman Wouk's "The Caine Mutiny."
Because action takes places in the '70-'80s, there is a lot of profanity and navy lingo. It is the way the navy was then and still is to some degree. Action takes place on board the USS San Clemente during its voyage to the Indian Ocean, where the skipper ends up missing. This novel ...