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Book Review of Ghost Ship : The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew

Ghost Ship : The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew
Leigh avatar reviewed on + 378 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


I ran across this fascinating legend as a girl and have been curious about it ever since. After all, what could possibly have happened to an entire crew of a boat who simply vanished - clothes, food, pipes, nautical instruments, etc. all left behind? Even a child's indentation in a mattress left. How did they vanish?

Hicks researched the hell out of this book and at one point I got overwhelmed with the details; he included transcripts from the trials and personal information about the salvers. He even captured the personality of the dastardly Flood, the Admiralty Court surveyor who attempted to expose lies and fraud on the part of the Dei Gratia crew, who found the abandoned ship. Very, very well done.

I loved the information about the Bermuda Triangle and the first known planes to have vanished inside it. Hicks covered all sorts of crazy nautical tales and folklore. No wonder fisherman are superstitious - weird stuff happens out there.

And the endingHicks presents a plausible, logical, and fully believable story for the disappearance of the crew. Having read the entire book and sorted through the details, I believe Hicks and that's why I'm so sad. I wanted the haunted tale of the ghost ship to stay a mystery; but more of me wanted to know what happened. Simply put, I had to know. I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that Hicks' theory is just a theory and we'll never know for certain. But now I've gone and spoiled my mystery. Was it worth it? Yep.