Book Review: The Penobscot Conspiracy

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Penobscot Conspiracy     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Roger Judkins
Class/Genre:   Mystery
AmErica, Nov 2000, 262 pp.

In October 2000 in Orono, Maine, University of Maine Department of naval Archeology chair Dr. Jules Morlock claims a finding matched perhaps only by Pearl Harbor. Morlock unequivocally states that sonar proves that at least forty Revolutionary War battleships reside at the bottom of Penobscot Bay. He further asserts that no evidence of enemy damage can be found to the ships, leading to a possible infamy unparalleled in history.

US Navy Captain (R) Artimas Seahawk and Morlock know what happened off the coast of Maine in 1779. However, without finding the flagship, Morlock's claims means little. Still, a game of cat and mouse begins as Morlock plans to prove his theory that Washington ordered the sinking of the fleet while Seahawk prepares to stop him from gaining the final proof needed to win the argument. Thus, another generation competes just like several of their ancestors played the same scenario out before them.

THE PENOBSCOT CONSPIRACY is a fascinating tale that uses flashbacks to take the audience back to Revolutionary War America. In fact, most of the book is set during the conflict. The obsessed Morlock and the ultra calm Seahawk make superb rivals even as both seem almost super-human in their thirst to win the contest. Though the generational inheritance to both sides seems stretched, fans of alternate history novels will gladly put away their reality quotient to fully relish this fabulous look back in time as Roger Judkins provides a very entertaining novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner