This is the second book I’ve read by this author, the first one, The Perfect Girlfriend, was a wild ride, and this newest one was no exception. I find her books to be pure escapism and sometimes that is exactly the book I need to read.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, see disclosures for more detail.
About the Book:
It’s an offer she can’t refuse…and can’t escape.
True: Charlotte has an unsavory past. She married the wrong man, got caught up in his con artist games, took what wasn’t hers. She got out, though: divorced Sam, started fresh.
False: She left him before things went too far. Nothing bad happened.
True: Sam is missing, and before he disappeared, he left cryptic messages about someone threatening him—someone who has been threatening Charlotte, too.
True: She’s on the straight and narrow, has accepted a job as a personal assistant for an engagement party on board a private luxury cruise ship, the Cleobella.
False: No one on board knows about her past, and she’s far away from anyone who means her harm.
As the Cleobella sails through its glittering destinations—the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago—increasingly sinister events haunt the guests, and the turquoise waves and sun-drenched beaches give way to something darker. Someone knows what Charlotte did. Is it the blushing bride? The seemingly placid mother-in-law? Or the mysterious heiress?
Someone knows, and someone wants revenge—before the ship reaches its final port.
My Thoughts:
I gave this book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Despite a kind of clunky beginning, this is a fun suspenseful thriller set on the seas of the Caribbean. The perfect setting when everything is snowed in where I live.
The book starts with Charlotte and her husband Sam departing from a cruise ship, he goes back to the ship for something and she is by herself, customs searches her luggage and finds a valuable necklace that doesn’t belong to her. Sam is nowhere to be found–he has set her up.
Fast forward to the present day and Charlotte is trying to live on the straight-and-narrow, is in the process of trying to divorce Sam, if she can find him. She is trying to leave their past as con artists behind. She receives some frightening messages from Sam and some other messages telling her she needs to come up with a million pounds of “blood money.” Charlotte takes the opportunity to act as a personal assistant on a luxury yacht cruise in the Caribbean. Yet from the beginning, she discovers that her troubles have followed her to sea. Everyone aboard is a suspect, who is behind the messages?
I found this book to be a fun, slightly sinister journey. The setting was awesome and totally took me away from my cold winter to imagine warm and sandy locales. The mystery isn’t incredibly difficult to figure out, but the motivations behind everything isn’t clear until the (slightly over the top) ending. I did love how everything came together and felt very satisfied at the conclusion.
The book moves back and forth between the past and the present, showing the reader how Charlotte and Sam came together, the shady things they pulled off, and the situations that directed her path to the present day. The beginning was strong, and then it took me a while after that to figure out exactly what had taken place and what was going on in the present. Once I did, I was rooting for Charlotte throughout, I thought she was a strong character who made some pretty poor choices.
If you’re looking for pure escapist enjoyment, this suspense thriller will definitely provide enjoyment.
About the Author:
Karen Hamilton spent her childhood in Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy and worked as a flight attendant for many years. She has now put down roots in the UK to raise her three children with her husband and she also writes full time. Her books include The Perfect Girlfriend, The Last Wife, and The Ex-Husband, out January 2022.
Social Links:
Twitter: @KJHAuthor
Facebook: @karenhamiltonwriter
Instagram: @karenhamiltonauthor
