Off on another adventure, this time the Five are camping in a field that also happens to have a travelling circus nearby. At first they’re not friends but the return of Jo who we met in a previous book softens them, and together they manage to rescue a scientist who has been kidnapped and is being held prisoner in the crumbling ruins of a castle. As you do. Fun, but pretty standard at this point for the group.

A solid nautical adventure, it’s fun following Hornblower around, even if he does get a bit above his station at times! Confidence, rather than arrogance, though. This book also contains the interesting difficulties of a captain who is unstable, and the real consequences and terror that surrounds mutiny - even if it’s the right thing to do. I felt like the book came to a weird end, with Hornblower on shore, dealing with the day to day life of a non-naval existence… until the threat of war returned right at the end, almost like a cliffhanger! On to the next book!