If you are a fan of Michigan history with a touch of mystery, there is a great summer read in your future.

Renowned local maritime author Frederick Stonehouse has penned another book about the Great Lakes, this time with an air of mystery.

“Gone — The Greatest Shipwreck Mystery on the Great Lakes,” centers on the French Navy minesweepers, the Inkermann and Cerisoles, which disappeared in 1918 in Lake Superior.

According to the book, during World War I, a dozen minesweepers were built by the Canadian Car and Foundry in Port Arthur, Ontario, for the French Navy. The Inkermann and Cerisoles, along with the minesweeperSebastopol, left Port Arthur on Nov. 23, 1918, bound for Montreal before final delivery to France.

The Inkermann and Cerisoles disappeared somewhere in Lake Superior during a southerly gale, and subsequent searches failed to find the missing ships. A total of 78 French sailors and two Great Lakes pilots died in the incident.

“This book has no end, at least not yet,” Stonehouse wrote in the “opening thoughts” section of the book. “It is a voyage uncompleted. Through the fact, theory and myth of the missing vessels they have become the greatest maritime mystery in the Great Lakes.”

Stonehouse, who said his book now is on the market, spoke with The Mining Journal on Tuesday at the Marquette Maritime Museum about his new book.

“This is one I’ve been chasing for a very long time,” Stonehouse said. “It’s just so unique.”

Although the armistice took place on Nov. 11, 1918, the war was still going on “to a point,” he said.

“They saw the military need to pull these vessels through,” Stonehouse said.

However, the two vessels did not make it through, and simply disappeared, having last been seen off Keweenaw Point.

“Not a body has ever been recovered,” Stonehouse said.

The book is available at the Marquette Maritime Museum, Michigan Fair and Amazon. If you’re looking for something to cap off your summer reading list, this sounds like a great addition.