John F Hanley takes us back to the darkest days of 1940 in his latest page turner

LEICESTSHIRE, U.K. - Aug. 14, 2013 - PRLog -- The Last Boat is the second novel by Jersey author John Hanley – and the follow up book to the acclaimed, Against the Tide.

The book opens in the middle of the greatest naval disaster in British history when the Luftwaffe bombs and sinks the hastily converted Cunard liner, HMT Lancastria. In the ten minutes of bombing and strafing, over 5,000 troops and civilians are blown apart by the high explosive bombs. These losses represent more than one third of all members of the British Expeditionary Force killed in the nine months of war so far. The news is so shocking that Churchill suppresses it and the report into the loss will remain sealed until 2040.

Author John Hanley observes, 'I grew up in Jersey surrounded by the artefacts of the German Occupation. My mother lived through it and every adult I knew had a story to tell. Through extreme good fortune my mother avoided the fate of several islanders when the Germans bombed and strafed the harbour on Friday 28th June 1940.' He goes on to add, 'I've always had a strong affinity with that period of history for Jersey and wanted to experience what it must have been like to cope with all that was thrown at the islanders after the British government abandoned them.'

Through the immediacy of John's storytelling we are compelled to witness events which cannot leave us unmoved. The Last Boat is an intense, exciting, absorbing and frightening account of a shocking period of World War 2 that will appeal to readers of historical fiction who appreciate the complexities and uncertainties facing young adults as their world is forever shattered by war.

PUBLICATION DATE August 2013

eISBN: 9781783069231 Price: £2.79