Commodore Hilty’s Second Act

Bradford Hilty returns to sea in another novel by Thomas Corcoran featuring this gifted but conflicted contrarian. In the summer of 2018, bored with his civilian teacher's job in Norfolk and at odds with his wife (and she with him), Hilty is asked to take command of three high-tech U.S. destroyers being sold to Taiwan and sail them to their island home. Truly it is an old sailor's dream come true. But it won't be easy. First, the Taiwanese crews seem to be afraid of their new ships. Second, the government of China, which views the sale as upsetting the balance of power in the region and encouraging Taiwan independence, has declared that it will stop the transit at all costs. Third, Hilty cannot legally give orders to these foreign ships, only advice. And fourth, an assistant is assigned to him in the delightful person of Tsai Mei-ling, with whom he makes an instant connection and yet who may not be what she appears.

As with The Flag List, his first novel in the Hilty series, Commodore Hilty's Second Act displays Corcoran's powerful gifts of psychological insight, sympathy, and storytelling. This highly readable novel is both a thrilling sea adventure and an engrossing study of a remarkable and original character in the twilight of his productive days. Are there second acts in American lives? Let Commodore Hilty give you his answer.