Wreckers Must Breathe — Hammond Innes

A reporter discovers a German U-boat -- and a plot to seize the English coast -- in this thrilling World War II adventure novel.

The Cornish coast is wrecker's country. Mile after mile of jagged rock means certain death for passing ships -- and untold riches for the locals brave enough to swim out and take whatever they can find. For journalist Walter Craig, it's a pleasant destination for a seaside vacation . . . until reports come in of German mobilization and England finds herself on the brink of war. At first, life continues as usual for the natives of Cornwall. But the conflict is much closer than they think.
 
Craig is cruising along the coast in a small fishing vessel when it nearly collides with a shadowy black shape. At first, the crew mistakes it for a shark, but it's something far more dangerous: a German U-boat that has made its home in the heart of England to engage in a wrecking expedition the likes of which Cornwall has never seen.
 
Written in the thick of World War II, Wreckers Must Breathe is a thrilling novel of espionage and adventure in a country on the brink of destruction. For Craig and the wreckers of Cornwall, the war will be won or lost on this rocky stretch of the English Channel.