William Rennie Series by Peter Smalley

1786: Captain William Rennie is on the beach and on half pay when he's given a prime commission: HMS Expedient is a 36 gun frigate; she is to be sent to the South Seas on a scientific expedition.For Lieutenant James Hayter, in Dorsetshire, whose career had barely begun when the peace came, his own commission in Expedient out of the blue is equally surprising and exciting. But for these two sea officers there is something odd and disturbing about the nature of their task... more1786: Captain William Rennie is on the beach and on half pay when he's given a prime commission: HMS Expedient is a 36 gun frigate; she is to be sent to the South Seas on a scientific expedition.For Lieutenant James Hayter, in Dorsetshire, whose career had barely begun when the peace came, his own commission in Expedient out of the blue is equally surprising and exciting. But for these two sea officers there is something odd and disturbing about the nature of their task. They sense that they are not being told the whole truth about the forthcoming expedition, and the shady, powerful figure of Sir Robert Greer is always at their backs. Is someone trying to sabotage their mission? Why is their progress dogged by a mysterious man of war? And what are the secret orders locked in Rennie's cabin which may only be opened once they round the Cape of Good Horn?The answers lies on a beautiful uncharted island, in the remotest corner of the Pacific immensity, to which the storm-battered Expedient limps for desperately needed repairs. Soon the dangers of the voyage will pale in comparison with what they discover there, across the limpid waters of the lagoon... less

1788. HMS Expedient has returned from a perilous secret mission to the Pacific Ocean. Her Captain, William Rennie, and First Lieutenant James Hayter should be wealthy men, but their patron, the sinister spymaster Sir Robert Greer, has seen that their rewards and their crews are meager at best. The most they can hope for is a new commission -- no easy matter in the peace: and the only man with influence enough to get them one is Greer... more1788. HMS Expedient has returned from a perilous secret mission to the Pacific Ocean. Her Captain, William Rennie, and First Lieutenant James Hayter should be wealthy men, but their patron, the sinister spymaster Sir Robert Greer, has seen that their rewards and their crews are meager at best. The most they can hope for is a new commission -- no easy matter in the peace: and the only man with influence enough to get them one is Greer. Everyone knows that the uneasy calm that exists between Britain and pre Revolutionary France cannot last the coming political ferment on the Continent. French spies are already abroad in the British Colonies planning attacks that will take place when war breaks out. One of the places most at risk is the island of Jamaica: a key strategic and economic target of the French. Soon Expedient is on her way to Port Royal. There they find a society founded on the unimaginable riches of slavery and the plantations; a society threatened by sexual intrigue, scandal and the ever-present threat of fever. But soon murder is added to the mix and it falls to Rennie and Hayter to unravel a complex enemy plot taking place at the Governor's residence at Spanish Town; a plot that will end in a bloody and unexpected sea action. less

It is the eve of the French Revolution and England awaits with trepidation the news from the Continent that will propel her into war again. But Lieutenant James Hayter's orders from the Admiralty do not at first involve the sea. He must go inland to seek out Captain William Rennie, who has disappeared into the wilds of Dartmoor.