The Man in the Mist

Freddie Hawkins has joined the Royal Marines as a young officer, to get closer to the father he hardly knows. But his father, Martin Horatio Hawkins, has proved yet again to be a bitter disappointment, despite being the Corp's most celebrated sniper.Fate seems determined to keep them apart, until the invasion of a forgotten group of lonely islands, deep in the South Atlantic, brings them together in an unforgettable experience of war, love and self-discovery.Freddie is pitched into war without any time to adjust and finds himself commanding the most respected troop in Four Nine Commando: Five Troop. All too soon he is leading his troop on a classic commando raid to help destroy a strategic Argentine target, in the prelude to the main landings to recapture the Falkland Islands by Three Commando Brigade Royal Marines.But it goes horribly wrong and before he has a chance to show his strengths the fog of war has taken over and young Freddie finds himself in direct conflict with the fearsome Sergeant Smythe. In taking a central part in the ensuing yomp, patrolling, and eventually the deliberate night Commando attacks to free the islanders of their hated invaders, Freddie Hawkins experiences all of the trials of fighting Britain's last "Colonial War".Written by someone who was there, this story is much more than a gripping novel; it is a graphic and highly accurate account of what it was like to march, live and fight in a Royal Marine Commando, deployed to some of the most hostile territory on the planet, against overwhelming numerical odds, and eight thousand miles from home.This story shows why those who have won the honour to wear the Green Beret do so with such pride.