Scan barcode
janetk242's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
paulabrandon's review against another edition
2.0
Charlotte falls for Sam and becomes part of his life of working on cruise ships. They work as a team, fleecing rich travelgoers out of their money through various scams, such as convincing them to donate money to fake charities.
Their marriage ends when a scam goes wrong and Sam throws Charlotte under the bus, clears out their joint accounts and takes off.
Charlotte narrowly escapes getting caught for her criminal ways, and vows to go legit. She is gaining success with her business as some sort of events manager (it's a little unclear, to be honest), and ends up taking a job on a superyacht for some rich folk celebrating birthdays and engagements.
It's a good escape for Charlotte, because she is being threatened by a victim of one of her scams. She learns that Sam has gone missing and is presumed dead. However, once on the superyacht, with no means of escape, she realises that her tormentor is on board with her!
It's a good set-up for a thriller, but this sure is one laboriously paced book! It has the now typical "then" and "now" chapters, a trope that is just ridiculously overused these days. The "then" chapters detail how Charlotte and Sam met and fell in love, a bunch of the scams they ran, and how Sam was basically just another toxic, manipulative male.
The "then" chapters wore on my nerves. I understood they needed to be there so that we could get a smattering of red herrings as to which fleeced victim might be orchestrating events in the present, but it didn't achieve much. We meet these various targets in one chapter each only, so it's completely arbitrary as to which one might be seeking revenge. There's no real investment in knowing or finding out what the connection is!
And when the "then" chapters conclude, the "now" chapters just trudge away drearily. We get every detail of the holiday these people are on, and it was just boring! Anybody out there enjoy watching a slideshow of someone's photos while they were on holiday? No? Because that's what it amounted to here! The author occasionally tries to spice it up with sinister happenings to Charlotte, but they really don't make any sense in hindsight.
Similarly, there's no real investment in which superyacht passenger is stalking Charlotte. They are all interchangeable, and it's easy to forget who is who. Several of them don't even have any dialogue! Only Thomas, Lucy, Mariella, Josephine and Harrison have any sort of presence in the narrative. That also whittles down the enjoyment of figuring out who is doing what.
Then there is the convenience of some plot points. Oh, look, Charlotte worked on a cruise ship with Lucy once! Charlotte had a fling with Harrison when he and Josephine were having a break! I know we often say it's a small world, but that was a teensy bit too much!
And although Charlotte is supposed to be some sort of events manager or planner, that didn't seem to match what she was doing on this superyacht. She was more of an assistant to Thomas than anything, which makes it difficult to understand why she would be so eager to take on the job.
I'll give credit to the characterisation of Charlotte. I like a flawed character who isn't necessarily unreliable. Some of her actions and thoughts were really quite relatable. Indeed, the ending here was a high point. A good climax, and a coda that leaves you wanting more! If only it hadn't been so excruciatingly dull getting there!
Their marriage ends when a scam goes wrong and Sam throws Charlotte under the bus, clears out their joint accounts and takes off.
Charlotte narrowly escapes getting caught for her criminal ways, and vows to go legit. She is gaining success with her business as some sort of events manager (it's a little unclear, to be honest), and ends up taking a job on a superyacht for some rich folk celebrating birthdays and engagements.
It's a good escape for Charlotte, because she is being threatened by a victim of one of her scams. She learns that Sam has gone missing and is presumed dead. However, once on the superyacht, with no means of escape, she realises that her tormentor is on board with her!
It's a good set-up for a thriller, but this sure is one laboriously paced book! It has the now typical "then" and "now" chapters, a trope that is just ridiculously overused these days. The "then" chapters detail how Charlotte and Sam met and fell in love, a bunch of the scams they ran, and how Sam was basically just another toxic, manipulative male.
The "then" chapters wore on my nerves. I understood they needed to be there so that we could get a smattering of red herrings as to which fleeced victim might be orchestrating events in the present, but it didn't achieve much. We meet these various targets in one chapter each only, so it's completely arbitrary as to which one might be seeking revenge. There's no real investment in knowing or finding out what the connection is!
And when the "then" chapters conclude, the "now" chapters just trudge away drearily. We get every detail of the holiday these people are on, and it was just boring! Anybody out there enjoy watching a slideshow of someone's photos while they were on holiday? No? Because that's what it amounted to here! The author occasionally tries to spice it up with sinister happenings to Charlotte, but they really don't make any sense in hindsight.
Similarly, there's no real investment in which superyacht passenger is stalking Charlotte. They are all interchangeable, and it's easy to forget who is who. Several of them don't even have any dialogue! Only Thomas, Lucy, Mariella, Josephine and Harrison have any sort of presence in the narrative. That also whittles down the enjoyment of figuring out who is doing what.
Then there is the convenience of some plot points. Oh, look, Charlotte worked on a cruise ship with Lucy once! Charlotte had a fling with Harrison when he and Josephine were having a break! I know we often say it's a small world, but that was a teensy bit too much!
And although Charlotte is supposed to be some sort of events manager or planner, that didn't seem to match what she was doing on this superyacht. She was more of an assistant to Thomas than anything, which makes it difficult to understand why she would be so eager to take on the job.
I'll give credit to the characterisation of Charlotte. I like a flawed character who isn't necessarily unreliable. Some of her actions and thoughts were really quite relatable.
Spoiler
I also give credit to any modern day thriller that doesn't cheat you with an I-was-lying-all-along ending.07jburto's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
asumprer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
lga3's review against another edition
3.0
Not terrible but also not great. I enjoyed reading it but I think it was a little slow at times.
rmarcin's review against another edition
4.0
This is the 2nd con man book I have read in 2 days! I didn't realize that before I read it, but what a coincidence! In this book, Sam and Charlotte meet while Charlotte is on a cruise for work. Sam works as a croupier in the casino on board. He woos Charlotte and wins her over. Later, they are married, and work all sorts of cons on people on the ship. But, later, Charlotte wants out, especially after Sam left her to take the fall for something he took.
The book opens with that scene, and then provides you the back story of what Sam and Charlotte did. Now, Sam is trying to reach Charlotte, texting her but not replying when she responds. She is hesitant to get involved with him again. When Charlotte realizes she is being threatened, she decides to take another job, this time on a yacht, to try to find Sam or the person who is after her.
A twisty thriller. Lots of characters, though, perhaps too many.
The book opens with that scene, and then provides you the back story of what Sam and Charlotte did. Now, Sam is trying to reach Charlotte, texting her but not replying when she responds. She is hesitant to get involved with him again. When Charlotte realizes she is being threatened, she decides to take another job, this time on a yacht, to try to find Sam or the person who is after her.
A twisty thriller. Lots of characters, though, perhaps too many.
avid_read's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up
This one was a little slow to start for me but once I got into the dual timeline psychological thriller, I couldn't wait to see who had turned the tables on Charlotte, a professional con-artist used to hopping around the Caribbean working on yachts and cruise ships. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware's The woman in cabin 10, Marissa Stapley's Lucky, Roz Nay's The hunted or Rachel Hawkins's Reckless girls. Great on audio as well.
This one was a little slow to start for me but once I got into the dual timeline psychological thriller, I couldn't wait to see who had turned the tables on Charlotte, a professional con-artist used to hopping around the Caribbean working on yachts and cruise ships. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware's The woman in cabin 10, Marissa Stapley's Lucky, Roz Nay's The hunted or Rachel Hawkins's Reckless girls. Great on audio as well.
bookswritingandmore's review against another edition
4.0
A former con artist is doing her best to be on the straight and narrow since her ex Sam has disappeared. She decides to go back to the Caribbean where she is happiest. Someone wants revenge for what she did though and they won't stop till they get it. Out at sea she starts to feel safer but realizes, she is not safe at all.
This was a page turner and incredible story. Although a bit slow in parts, the rest makes up for it. A true suspenseful read that will have you turning pages long after lights out.
This was a page turner and incredible story. Although a bit slow in parts, the rest makes up for it. A true suspenseful read that will have you turning pages long after lights out.