HMS Nightingale (Alexis Carew #4)

For Lieutenant Alexis Carew, it should be the perfect assignment — a command of her own set to patrol an area of space that contains her own home system of Dalthus. What she finds is a surly crew, the dregs of every frigate and ship of the line to pass through on the way to the war, a first officer who thinks the command should have been his, and colonial worlds where they think a girl’s place is anywhere but the Navy. Add to that the mysterious disappearances of ore ships vital to the war effort and an old enemy who seems intent on convincing her he’s changed. Then there’s the mongoose with an unnatural attraction to her boots.