COLD KITCHEN

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENURE WRITING PRIZE A gripping tale of one woman s extraordinary adventures Saltblood is a triumph of the imagination ELODIE HARPER author of The Wolf Den trilogy A ravishing picaresque told with fireworks finesse and gusto PAUL LYNCH author of Prophet Song A well crafted salty old fashioned adventure about identity and freedom The TimesIn a rented room outside Plymouth in 1685 a daughter is born as her half brother is dying Her mother makes a decision Mary will become Mark and Ma will continue to collect his inheritance money Mary s dual existence as Mark will lead to a role as a footman in a grand house serving a French mistress to the navy learning who to trust and how to navigate by the stars and to the army and the battlegrounds of Flanders finding love among the bloodshed and the mud But none of this will stop Mary yearning for the sea Drawn back to the water Mary must reinvent herself yet again for a woman aboard a ship is a dangerous thing This time Mary will become something more dangerous than a woman She will become a pirate Breathing life into the Golden Age of Piracy Saltblood is a wild adventure a treasure trove weaving an intoxicating tale of gender and survival passion and loss jou