The Stowaway by James S. Murray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Crime Thriller
“A far stronger smell blasted out of the dark space, immediately overwhelming and shocking Pam’s senses. It was putrid. Something rotten. Like a decomposing animal.”
“All passengers on board are accounted for. All crewmembers are accounted for. No one is missing, not a single person.” Hendricks shrugged. “So it seems we have a stowaway.”
Maria Fontana’s life changed the day she was selected for jury duty for the murder trial of Wyatt Butler. Charged with the murder and mutilation of eight children, he was labeled the worst serial killer in decades. When the jury couldn’t agree on conviction, the mistrial threw their lives into turmoil. The public and the victim’s family were furious, how could they have let this monster go?
Years pass but with the threats and violence towards the jurors and now with a new book out about Butler, Maria’s life has not been able to return to normal. Her fiancé proposes a vacation for the family to get away from it all for a while. A two week cruise to London might be just what the doctor ordered. However it doesn’t take long for their relaxing vacation to turn into a nightmare. Someone is trying to get Maria’s attention.
“Most cruise ship deaths were your typical causes: heart attacks, stroke, alcohol poisoning, preexisting medical conditions. But something this sinister was uncharted territory.”
The decapitated head of an unknown person in an unoccupied room put the cruise on high alert but this is only the beginning. Soon enough, a child goes missing. As the rumor mill spreads the details of the crime, Maria can not control her apprehension. She has heard details like these before.
“Whoever murdered this child, whoever did this, had deliberately put the body here. In one of the most public places on the entire ship, on purpose.”
Maria knows who is doing this and only she can stop him but will anyone believe her or is she on her own?
An excellent, fast paced thriller that kept me guessing throughout, full of gruesome, gory details. This book is definitely not for younger readers or those sensitive to child murders.
A unique plot that I have not heard before which was very refreshing. I kept anticipating plot twists but my predictions repeatedly came up short. It is very satisfying to read a book that you don’t know how it’s going to end 20 pages in.
I requested this book from NetGalley because the plot sounded interesting but mostly due to author James Murray. I was intrigued when I saw that he wrote a crime Thriller as I’m used to watching him on Impractical Jokers. Going from comedy to thriller is a big leap and I needed to see if it was successful. I’m not disappointed in the least and was pleasantly surprised. His other novels, sci-if Horror stories involving monsters, did not sound as captivating as this one however after the enjoyment of this book I may just need to check them out.
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