Wow. Fast-paced, suspenseful and captivating. I knew I'd enjoy this one right from the first line. The first few chapters might be hard to follow with so many characters being introduced but as the story progresses, that won't be a problem. The writing really brought the ship alive, I can vividly imagine myself being on the ship amongst them. 

The ending might be a little underwhelming and not that shocking but that didn't matter. I enjoyed the journey so much. The murders and sightings are so suspenseful I remember one time I got shivers for what's about to come. That's how immersed I was with this.

Michelle Obama voice: Stuart you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all, and doing it flawlessly.

I shouldn't be surprised that this was my first 2021 5 star read, but I'm just so blown away! I say it all the time, but I'm not big on murder mysteries, but this one really had everything, I don't know where to begin. The setting was so vivid and well developed. The atmosphere and culture of the world and setting was conveyed very naturally without blocks of exposition. The characters we were supposed to like were charming, and the characters we were supposed to hate were loathsome, but neither in a heavy handed way. I did find some of the dialogue to be a bit rushed and unnatural, but it was easy to look beyond. There were a few underlying themes around sexism and class disparity that were touched on in interesting ways. The author did a great job of painting a more... gritty? realistic?... picture of sailors than the oft romanticized versions we see today. This added to the danger and suspense for the female characters of the book, without using needless violence towards women as a tool for character development.

It goes without saying, but if you liked Evelyn Hardcastle, or if you like Agatha Christie-esque murder mysteries, you'll love this. I can't recommend it enough.