In Tony Gibbs's engaging sequel to his earlier thriller, "Dead Run," the offbeat crew of the 65-foot ketch Glory is hired to find her. The mystery is unraveled from three points of view: those of Gillian Verdean, the yacht's bold and resourceful owner; her savvy and tenacious captain, Jeremy Barr; and her first mate, Patrick O'Mara, an able and gutsy former soldier of fortune. As each character pursues a separate line of clues, we travel to a Bronx boatyard, a Manhattan magazine office, a Coast Guard station, various night spots in Bermuda and New York and, of course, several sailing vessels.
"Running Fix" is an apt name for this suspenseful and adeptly written novel. When a vessel's position is uncertain, it can be found by intersecting three lines of positionbearings or distances to known objectson a nautical chart. If an earlier line is updated and combined with one or two current lines, you have a running fixand so does the novel, each time the three crewmembers meet.
Mr. Gibbs, formerly the executive editor of The New Yorker, once an editor of Yachting magazine and the author of several books on sailing, has created a clever and vivid mystery. His book is balanced and well-trimmed, and it sustains its authenticity throughout.