Helpful Score: 10
I had not read this author before and the story was well written and interesting. However, I found myself nearly loathing the main character (who is accurately described at one point in the book as "weak willed and suggestible") before it was over. I would also add selfish and manipulative, but she was young, so maybe she didn't know any better. In all fairness, few of the characters were likable, and maybe the point is we do not know what we are capable of until we experience the worst scenario. This is a story of survival at any cost.
Helpful Score: 7
This is a "what if" book*:
What if another ocean liner mysteriously sank a few years after The Titanic?
What if several lifeboats full of people escaped and remained unrescued for weeks?
What if three of the women threw another survivor overboard and were tried for murder upon their return to civilization?
Grace Winters is one of those women, newly married and subsequently widowed. She's a tricky one...an unreliable narrator relaying the events of her time in the lifeboat and her trial. She admits to earlier manipulations (or at least omissions of truth) and claims to not remember some of the events on the boat (which is understandable, considering the conditions). She looks out for herself in a time when women had few legal rights.
While Grace does raise some interesting questions about faith, justice, and memory, this isn't a life-changing read. It's not particularly deep or exceptionally suspenseful, but it was an enjoyable read.
*I shelved this book as "historical" in the sense that it takes place during a specific period of history, not that the events portrayed actually happened.
What if another ocean liner mysteriously sank a few years after The Titanic?
What if several lifeboats full of people escaped and remained unrescued for weeks?
What if three of the women threw another survivor overboard and were tried for murder upon their return to civilization?
Grace Winters is one of those women, newly married and subsequently widowed. She's a tricky one...an unreliable narrator relaying the events of her time in the lifeboat and her trial. She admits to earlier manipulations (or at least omissions of truth) and claims to not remember some of the events on the boat (which is understandable, considering the conditions). She looks out for herself in a time when women had few legal rights.
While Grace does raise some interesting questions about faith, justice, and memory, this isn't a life-changing read. It's not particularly deep or exceptionally suspenseful, but it was an enjoyable read.
*I shelved this book as "historical" in the sense that it takes place during a specific period of history, not that the events portrayed actually happened.
Helpful Score: 5
This book grabbed me from the start and I finished it almost non stop reading! It was riveting and hard to put down, but the ending left me with "huh",... like the author rushed to give closure to the story.
*****SPOILER ALERT**** I was waiting for Grace to finally meet her mother-in-law, who after all paid for all attorney fees, but that never happened. Also, all of a sudden she is going to marry her attorney....what???.... a totally unsatisfactory ending!
Thus 4 stars instead of 5.
*****SPOILER ALERT**** I was waiting for Grace to finally meet her mother-in-law, who after all paid for all attorney fees, but that never happened. Also, all of a sudden she is going to marry her attorney....what???.... a totally unsatisfactory ending!
Thus 4 stars instead of 5.
