"A taut, evocative thriller that's surprising to the last page." --Karen M. McManus, New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying There's no hiding on a cruise ship--not even from yourself. Natalie's parents are taking her and her three best friends on a cruise for her seventeenth birthday. A sail-a-bration, they call it. But it's only been a few short months since Natalie's boyfriend died in a tragic accident, and she wants to be anywhere but here. Then she meets a guy on the first night and sparks fly. After a moonlit conversation on a secluded deck of the ship, Natalie pops down to her cabin to get her swimsuit so they can go for a dip. But when she returns, he's gone. Something he said makes her think he might have . . . jumped? No, he couldn't have. But why do her friends think she's crazy for wanting to make sure he's okay? Also, why do they seem to be hiding something from her? And how can she find him when she doesn't even know his name? Most importantly, why is the captain on the intercom announcing the urgent need for a headcount? With her signature thrilling storytelling, the author of The Leaving and The Possible explores our vulnerability to the power of suggestion--and the lies we tell others and ourselves--in a twisting, Hitchcock-inspired mystery with high stakes and dark secrets.
Reviews with the most likes.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
DNF @ 24%
This is such a shame since I really enjoyed The Leaving by the same author. I started to wonder if things would be different if I was reading an official non-ARC copy, but I don't think the formatting was at fault, mostly.
See while trying to read this, there felt like a veil between the characters and I, keeping me from getting too close. I couldn't connect, I couldn't understand actions, I couldn't feel them. It is weird to feel so disconnected from a book and my mind kept wandering. Other times I'd re-read a page and realize I hadn't let me mind wander the book literally just switched from present to flashback or detailed background out of nowhere – this might have been ARC formatting, perhaps there will be more of a divide or marker that things are switching. Then again, I didn't think all the background or details were needed... I might have also stopped caring by then.
See, the main character is depressed. Totally understandable since her boyfriend died just months ago. What I don't understand is the need to not hang out with him instead hanging out with a guy whose name you don't know and is kinda a dick. Friends even ask to meet him and she says she'll being him only to totally not truly consider it when she is with him again.
So, I'm not sure if I dislike the main character flat out or just her while she is depressed... yet she mentions that whether the boyfriend died or not, she wouldn't want to be on a cruise and acts annoyed the whole time, acts like her friends should flock to her. So, I'm thinking I wouldn't like the main character either way, which makes a book like this very difficult for me to read.
20% in there is no thrilling aspect, I think I left just as things were going to get interesting, but I didn't like the dude either so... I don't think it would have been thriller material for me. Might recommend to people who like mysteries more than thrillers... but, again I'm not sure how often I would recommend this one.
