Genre: Suspense
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: July 2009
Reviewed by Tim George
When some people hear “historical” and “well researched” their eyes glaze over in anticipation of what most undoubtedly will prove to be a boring read. Not so with Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey! Instead what we get is the story of two men separated by three hundred years yet joined by their love of the sea, treasure, and the pressing need to unburden themselves of resentment for the wrongs done to them by their fathers.
The two main characters at first seem to have little in common. Greg Rhode is a college educated treasure hunter with a secret affinity for bluegrass music. Bold Ted Bascombe is a sixteen year old boy set free from a Dutch slave trader by the famous pirate Captain Henry Thatch. Their stories weave in and out of each other throughout Pirate Hunter as both fall in love and both try to reconcile their Christian faith with the unresolved pain caused by fathers who failed them miserably.
If Johnny Depp is your idea of a typical pirate you may want to set that aside for the picture Morrisey paints in its place. Captain Hatch and Bold Ted are both believers who worship every Sunday. That is, unless they are claiming a ship as the property of the local governor. The Captain is a man feeling the weight of the contradictions of his life and the path he has led his young protégée down.
The technique used to tell this story works on every level. Morrisey moves us from past to present so smoothly it sometimes takes a moment to remember the characters are separated by three centuries. Though the conclusion leaves a few questions unanswered they are not the important ones. Both characters begin their journey believing treasure is what matters most. And it is; just not the kind they first believe. As always, the greatest treasures are not gold bars and rubies. The most valuable things in life are what are valuable in eternity. Something Bold Ted and Greg Rhode discover together in the most mysterious of all seas, the human heart.
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