Timothy J. Lockhart employs a classic plot for his second novel, PIRATES. But thanks to striking characterizations and unfamiliar settings, Lockhart makes the story his own.

Hal Morgan, is a former Navy SEAL, and carries the scars of his desert war service both on his face as well as inside his body. Now retired from the military, Morgan sails charter boats in Puerto Rico taking tourists out to sea. One day, while returning to his marina, he sees what looks like an abandoned daysailer about to sink. But when he pulls along side the boat he discovers the body of an unconscious woman in a black cocktail dress.

Morgan rescues the woman before her boat goes under. But when the woman comes to she finds one of Morgan’s guns and demands to be taken back to her ship to retrieve a bag. The bag is full of cash, and the woman, Ana Cortez Bolano, tells Morgan she is on the run from her gangster boss boyfriend, Jaime Rivera.

Morgan knows that Rivera will not let Ana escape with the money, so Morgan agrees to help Ana. But Rivera soon learns of Ana whereabouts and will stop at nothing to get his money back – with or without the girl.

Crime fiction fans will soon recognize this familiar story of a loner whose life is altered when he rescues a desperate woman. But the differences in Lockhart’s case begin with his characters.

Morgan is hardly your typical handsome hero. His face is disfigured and his scalp bald and he is riddled with silent self doubt. Ana is something other than a helpless woman on the run, and proves her determination shortly after being saved by Morgan. Rivera comes closest to expectations of the story’s main villain, but operates with a cool dispassion that adds tension to his attempts to retrieve his money.

The locations are also unexpected. Morgan and Ana run through the streets and towns of southern Puerto Rico as they try to stay one step ahead of Rivera. Lockhart presents these settings with just enough description to be convincing while staying with the narrative.

Lockhart’s prose style is direct and slightly hard-boiled. His main focus is the action, but he allows just enough emotional insight into his characters to maintain our interest. This second novel shows more confidence and controls than SMITH, Lockhart’s 2017 debut. With a little more imagination in his plots Lockhart could become a crime novelist worth following. —Alan Cranis

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