Hidden Cargo: A Novel

Five months after the end of the Civil War, Acting Navy Lieutenant Everett Townsend is awaiting discharge in Key West. The end of the war has left him uncertain about his future and full of regret about the end of his relationship with Emma, the Cuban American daughter of a Havana boarding house owner. His Spanish grandmother- a slave owner who runs a prosperous sugar plantation in the Cuban countryside- is dreaming that Everett will return and take over the family business, a prospect that sickens him. Returning from a routine supply mission from Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, he and his men are caught in a hurricane and witness a shipwreck in the Marquesas Keys. When they investigate, they discover a locked cargo hold with the dead bodies of Black freedmen. When Townsend reports this unsettling incident to his distracted Naval commander in Key West, he’s encouraged to drop the matter. But he can’t shake his suspicions that the poor souls from the cargo hold were destined for re-enslavement in the sugar fields of Spanish Cuba. The murder of an American sailor in a Cuban port provides Townsend with a reason to return to Cuba and continue his investigation even as it reunites him with Emma who has joined the secretive Cuban resistance to Spanish colonial rule. A rescue of a Navy veteran leads to more clues and helps convince Townsend to become a government informant operating in the interior of Cuba. He goes to live with his Spanish grandmother at her sugar plantation in the Cuban countryside. There Townsend finds himself facing an impossible choice between the Cuban-American woman he loves and his tradition-bound Spanish grandmother. As he grapples with this clash of personalities, Townsend uncovers the details of a conspiracy which forces him to come face to face with his own family’s close ties to slavery.

About the Author :
Robin Lloyd is the author of Harbor of Spies and Rough Passage to London, two seafaring suspense novels set in the nineteenth century. Lloyd was a foreign correspondent for NBC News for many years, where he reported from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Africa. He also covered the White House during the Reagan and Bush administrations. Lloyd has created and produced news programs with foreign networks as well as documentaries and segments for domestic stations, including Maryland Public Television. Among his prestigious awards are four Emmys from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay region and an Overseas Press Award. He and his wife divide their time between Chevy Chase, Maryland and Maine.

Review :
"The Civil War is over, and American slavery is no more. But gangs of human traffickers hoping to bring it back are kidnapping freedmen and sailing them to Cuba, where slavery is still legal, for sale to the island’s planter class. From his base in Key West, Navy Lieutenant Everett Townsend gets wind of one of these schemes and sets out to stop it. Hidden Cargo plunges Townsend into the heart of this darkness, where he is in constant danger as he pursues the criminals, navigates his way through the storm brewing between native Cubans and their imperial Spanish rulers, and comes to terms with the moral complications of his own family’s complicity in the very trade he is determined to abolish." "Hidden Cargo is the perfect novel for readers who want to know how the Civil War ended--and how it did not. Lloyd smuggles a treasure trove of nautical know-how and historical lore in this bracing tale of betrayal and redemption.” “Hidden Cargo is a triumph. Robin Lloyd has spliced his mastery of sea stories with a mystery saga that reveals a vicious plot to kidnap freed Blacks after the Civil War and sell them back into enslavement in Cuba. Lloyd tells his tale with a perfect eye for detail, from feel of a gunboat schooner battered by a hurricane in a mangrove swamp to a Black Navy veteran's passionate pursuit of his two kidnapped sons. Through this taut story, we root for Lloyd's complex and driven hero, Lieutenant Everett Townsend. As in each of his books, Lloyd has anchored his storytelling with meticulous historical research. His deeper theme, the attempt to reverse the Civil War's hard-won treasure of freedom, couldn't be more timely. With this third fine seafaring novel, Lloyd is making his way onto the shelf with other masters of the genre Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester. This is Lloyd's best and most satisfying book yet." Richly detailed and full of intrigue, Hidden Cargo is a compelling story about the challenges of family and career, loyalty against feelings of love and conscience. Sourced from real-life events and full of detail, it is a treat for historical fiction lovers. "Batten down the hatches and secure the sails because Hidden Cargo is a swashbuckling adventure not to be missed!" "A deeply emotional and poignant tale of the aftermath of the Civil War, slavery, and rebellion told exceptionally well!" Lloyd’s pacing is pitch-perfect and makes Hidden Cargo a thrilling read for salts of all ages. “Robin Lloyd tells the story of a young man's moral journey set against the exotic, alluring, repellant background of colonial, slave-owning Havana during the American Civil War. Readers will be swept away by the drama, romance, and intrigue of this tale—taken from real historical events and made thrilling, memorable, and meaningful by a sure-handed author.” Praise for Harbor of Spies “Robin Lloyd has written a captivating thriller-at-sea in Harbor of Spies. This book is at once a spy story, a sea story and a love story. The setting is exotic and highly original—Havana in the 1860s. The scenes of battle at sea are beautifully rendered. This second seafaring novel by Robin Lloyd cruises at hull speed.” “Harbor of Spies is that rare novel with the perfect mix of the magics. There is intrigue and romance combined with history and mystery set in a real time and place—colonial Cuba during the U.S. Civil War. The end result is a page-turning excursion through dangers and delights that will both entertain and enlighten. Enjoy!” Praise for Rough Passage to London “Robin Lloyd is a great reporter, and he has shaped meticulous research into a rollicking story of the sea and the tall ships that sailed the North Atlantic in the 1800s. Amazingly, he hadn't planned to write a novel when he began reading about his ancestor, Elisha Ely Morgan—who knew everyone of his day, from Charles Dickens to Queen Victoria. We can be glad that the more [Lloyd] read, the more he realized he had the makings of a fine story.” “Robin Lloyd has written a meticulously researched and thoroughly entertaining tale of the sea. Drawing on an ancestor who was a well-known sea captain, Robin weaves a tale of adventure and intrigue. The characters are beautifully drawn and believable, but what makes this book so memorable is the sense of what it was like to be on board a packet ship racing across the Atlantic, every sail straining and every line taut. This book will captivate anyone who loves the sea and a well-told yarn.” “Robin Lloyd has written a rousing yarn based on the real life of his dashing, salty ancestor, Captain Elisha Ely Morgan. Robin knows the sea and ships, and he tells this suspenseful tale wonderfully well.” “Pirate skirmishes, gale-force storms, human trafficking, and other high seas drama pepper Lloyd's poignant and action-packed debut about his real-life ancestor, Captain Ely Morgan. . . . Lloyd crafts an engaging and thoughtful thrill ride; his mariner Ely Morgan is neither salty nor rum-soaked . . . he's the thinking man's swashbuckler.” “NBC correspondent Lloyd draws on family history for his debut historical novel about his ancestor Capt. Elisha Ely Morgan. . . . This epic seafaring tale comes highly recommended for its exciting narrative and historical acumen. Lloyd’s research and personal connection to the past bring this tale to life, and fans of Patrick O’Brian will want to add this work to their reading list.” “[A] lively, fine read.”