I am delighted to share my review today of The Boat Trip by Heather J Fitt. This is the first time I have read a book by this author and it is a wonderful locked-room mystery set on the high seas!
The journey of a lifetime becomes the holiday from hell.
In a brand-new murder mystery by the author of The Flight , a yacht crosses the North Atlantic while a perfect storm of suspicion and vengeance develops onboard . . .
Duchess is about to set sail from Scotland to St. Lucia. But before she even leaves port, a crew member storms off in anger. It’s only the first in a series of events that will beset Helen, the skipper, her best friend, and the remaining crew.
During a port of call in the Canary Islands, an experienced sailor is found badly beaten onshore. As a replacement, Helen calls in her son—despite objections from her crew who know of his unsavoury reputation. Then, a near-fatal allergic reaction raises the tension level—and finally, during a fierce storm, someone goes overboard.
Is this a run of bad luck or is one person at the heart of the turmoil and violence? And if so, can the culprit be identified before they reach the Caribbean?
MY REVIEW
I have had this book on my Kindle for far too long and came across it while skimming through the books I have on my Kindle library. I am so glad I came across it as it was a wonderful read.
Helen is going to sail a yacht across the Atlantic, she will need a crew as this is not a little craft, it is expensive and she will be paid for transporting it. The crew is a mix of experienced, amateur, and newbies. Starting from Scotlnad going towards the Canaries, then on to St Lucia for delivery.
One of the crew is her friend, Erin, another is her son Connor, and others. As the synopsis relates, one of the crew is beaten so does not make the whole trip. He is not the only one. There are arguments, shocks, twists and turns as what should have been a pleasant trip turns into one full of suspicions, fear and drama.
This is a very good read and it is the first time I have read a book by this author. The author has used the weather to great effect in this book and she has been very clever to make it almost a character in itself. There are calm times, there are nervy times and then there are full-blown arguments and a sense of danger and this is mirrored in the weather especially when the crew are heading into an unseasonal storm.
The crew are a good mix from the meeker more timid, to the vociferous. With judgements being made and people on edge, nerves are frayed and tension increases. They are in the middle of the Atlantic, with no help for days, they have supplies, a sat phone and other essentials. So when things start to go wrong they are by themselves. When a crew member disappears it is the last crew member the finger gets pointed at. He is Helen’s other son, the one no one trusts and has a bad reputation for the anger and suspicion is aimed at.
With a mix of weather, characters, opinions, experience and traits, the suspicion of who is the culprit is small. It means there is a sense of back-biting and of people starting to pick sides as they try to work out who would be capable of essentially trying to commit murder.
This is a relatively quick read at 256 pages on my Kindle. It is a tense crime thriller and one that has plenty of twists and turns and I really enjoyed it, I will be looking at this author’s other books in the future. It is one I would be very happy to recommend.
Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx
