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A review by justinkhchen
The Stowaway by James S. Murray, Darren Wearmouth
3.0
3.5 stars
A fast, brutal, and silly roller coaster of a thriller, The Stowaway is 'dumb' in the best way possible; the 'murder spree on a cruise ship' premise has so much inherent appeal, I'm willing to forgive the cartoonish villain and convenient lapse in logic and logistic (no security cameras when you need them, people possessing superhuman strength, etc.).
The crime scenes are gory and elaborate in an over-the-top way reminiscent of the Final Destination film franchise (many of them deal with violence against children, so beware going in). The biggest letdown is perhaps the final confrontation with the villain, which reduces the supposedly cunning perpetrator to a mad baboon, and gets quickly eliminated — I had to re-read a couple pages in hope it was just a fake-out — alas the closure feels rushed and lacks the dramatic 'set piece' feel that permeates throughout the rest of the book.
Overall, The Stowaway packs a punch and delivers in an efficient, compact package; while the appeal is probably sustained by novelty rather than quality, I still had a blast!
A fast, brutal, and silly roller coaster of a thriller, The Stowaway is 'dumb' in the best way possible; the 'murder spree on a cruise ship' premise has so much inherent appeal, I'm willing to forgive the cartoonish villain and convenient lapse in logic and logistic (no security cameras when you need them, people possessing superhuman strength, etc.).
The crime scenes are gory and elaborate in an over-the-top way reminiscent of the Final Destination film franchise (many of them deal with violence against children, so beware going in). The biggest letdown is perhaps the final confrontation with the villain, which reduces the supposedly cunning perpetrator to a mad baboon, and gets quickly eliminated — I had to re-read a couple pages in hope it was just a fake-out — alas the closure feels rushed and lacks the dramatic 'set piece' feel that permeates throughout the rest of the book.
Overall, The Stowaway packs a punch and delivers in an efficient, compact package; while the appeal is probably sustained by novelty rather than quality, I still had a blast!