Last of the Boatriders
At the age of 63, Philip Drury was 25 years away from his days as a 'boatrider' - a conman afloat. At that time his criminal partner had been a man called Mark Russell. In the years in between Drury had built up a hugely successful stud, and become involved in property speculation - and in doing so had lost virtually everything.
Drury was not a man to accept defeat. He needed to locate Mark Russell and give 'boatriding' one last go. A cruise liner is selected, but in the Caribbean where the ship will cruise, two young American conmen have exactly the same idea . . .
Donald MacKenzie was born in Ontario, Canada, and educated in England, Canada and Switzerland. For twenty-five years MacKenzie lived by crime in many countries. 'I went to jail,' he wrote, 'if not with depressing regularity, too often for my liking.' His last sentences were five years in the United States and three years in England, running consecutively. He began writing and selling stories when in American jail. 'I try to do exactly as I like as often as possible and I don't think I'm either psychopathic, a wayward boy, a problem of our time, a charming rogue. Or ever was.'
He had a wife, Estrela, and a daughter, and they divided their time between England, Portugal, Spain and Austria.