I was a bit underwhelmed by this story if I’m honest.
After a break in, Laura becomes highly anxious and struggles to sleep. As a travel journalist, a handy luxurious cruise seems like the perfect way for her to relax. Oh how wrong she was. Unable to drift into a deep sleep, Laura hears a huge splash in the water right next to her cabin… a huge ‘body like’ splash. Laura begins to ask questions to the crew and fellow guests especially when she realises that nobody seems to be missing. A combination of her anxiety, excessive drinking and inability to provide any proof on the murder, leaves Laura with no ‘believers’ other than fellow ex boyfriend Ben; and at this point even Laura is doubting herself…
‘STOP DIGGING’
A message left in Laura’s spa treatment room restores her trust in her gut instincts and she begins hunting for the truth…. although it turns out it’s Laura who is being hunted.
Laura ends up being held captive by the murderer’s accomplice and as the days begin to blur, the chance of escape seems to be dwindling…
Meanwhile there’s this nice link to the outside world through the use of social media: Facebook group messages, forum discussions, new articles and emails, which are dotted throughout the book provide context to the timing of the events and place a certain level of doubt on Laura’s personality. I’m always a big fan of adding in media snippets, I think they break up a story, add another dimensional layer and provide a refreshing change from the standard font!
It’s definitely got the right vibes throughout this book: it’s got that sense of survival pumping adrenaline that is difficult to get across in words, it’s got enough characters to keep you guessing and it definitely throws ample enough curve balls on whether to trust the main character. So what was it lacking? I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps it was the lack of surprise when the secrets were revealed? I wasn’t shocked when I found out how twisted the explanation was… and it’s not that I’ve been desensitised because I’ve read far too many thriller plots and have seen it all before etc. … because trust me, the twist is good and one I haven’t read before. I think it was the writing style, it just didn’t seem to deliver the twist in a strong and powerful way. At the end of the day, this is only my opinion, so I’d be interested to hear if any of my fellow book bloggers have read this book and felt the same way, or even differently?
Until next time, Chloé x
Reviews by Chloé 
Hmm, haven’t read it-might have to now!
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Agree.
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Sorry to hear that the book didn’t quite meet your expectations. I read it last year and really liked it. I can’t remember everything about the book now but I do remember that I liked the setting the most. It added to a feeling of dread, being stuck at the sea seemed like being trapped in a nightmare. I also liked the MCs although some of her decisions were a bit too crazy and pushy.
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Yes, I have to agree the boat setting was fantastically claustrophobic and definitely created a nightmare situation! I think there were a lot of positives to this book I just finished it thinking ‘it’s not memorable’ if you get my drift? Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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I must agree that it was not quite as thrilling as I hoped. The boat setting was awesome, and different from most literature these days. But I think I had figured it out about halfway in, one of the consequences of having read “Gone Girl” and “The Girl on the Train” (and as an aside, have you noticed how many books these days have the word “girl” or “woman” in the title?) so it didn’t hold my interest as much afterward. A solid read and some genuine twists and thrills, but a somewhat disappointing ending. Great review, by the way!
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