When a repossessed luxury yacht crashes into the harbour it
is meant to be mooring at, the waiting friends and family members are horrified
to find the yacht devoid of any crew or passengers. The captain and his two
crew members as well as the family of 4 that were helping out on the voyage
home are nowhere to be seen. Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is hired by the parents of
the missing father of the family to investigate life policies left behind in
order to pay for the upkeep of the remaining grandchild. As Thóra delves deeper
into the case, bodies of the missing crew begin to pop up, all having been
killed in mysterious circumstances. The yacht is supposedly cursed and each
clue brings them closer to an unbelievable truth. Was it plain and simple
murder or are there supernatural forces at work?
The book has a great hook from the beginning and the author
very cleverly writes one chapter in present time showing you what the people
are trying to do to solve the mystery, and the next chapter from the people on
the yacht's perspective explaining to you the events leading up to the yacht
being found empty. Every now and then the writing is a little stiff-doubtless
the result of second language English, but this by no means detracts from the
story. As you are pulled along you absorb the clues offered and sway between
believing in ghosts and simple human greed. The clues are fed at a tantalising
speed so that when you finish a chapter you feel you have to read just one
more!
Thóra's character is extremely likeable as you can relate to
a hard working woman who is dealing with a partner, growing children and a
grandchild. Bella (Thóra's PA) is a piece of work-a disgraceful attitude and
lazy to boot. You feel the anguish of the characters on board the boat as
strange things start to happen that they have no control over and you understand
the despair of the grandparents as they face the possibility that the entire
family is gone and all they have are a 2 year-old's questions.
I thoroughly enjoyed the thriller. The explanation had me
pursing my lips a little, but at least there was an ending and it wasn't left
to the reader to fill in the gaps. The final chapter in the book is like a
bucket of ice thrown over you-absolute shivers. Fantastic idea with great
execution.
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