The Yacht by Sarah Goodwin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hannah has been best friends with Libby and Maggie since they were kids. As they’ve aged into adulthood though, their lifestyles have taken them in different directions.
Libby and her husband Ollie are incredible wealthy. Maggie, a successful fashion designer, and her husband, Leon, are quite wealthy as well.
Then there’s Hannah, who has struggled since Uni. She’s not flat broke or anything, but in comparison to the other two gals, she’s definitely the ‘poor’ friend.
Hannah would be lying if she said that the differences didn’t make her self-conscious. They do, but they’re her oldest and dearest friends. They love her really. Don’t they?
For New Year’s Eve, Libby decides to throw an intimate party on their yacht, located at a marina in Italy. It will be just her, her husband, Ollie, Maggie, Leon, Hannah, and their other dear friend, Harry, a recently successful artist.
Hannah is excited, but also anxious. It’s just another chance for Libby to rub her nose in their money. Nevertheless, Hannah decides to go and make the best of it. Of course, she has to drive like 11-hours, or something ridiculous to get there, because she can’t afford the plane fare.
The party is…let’s say, eventful. By the time Hannah gets herself to her cabin that night, she’s happy to be away from the lot of them. She’s ready for morning to come so she can get the hell out of there and never look back.
As she awakes the next day, hungover and anxious to leave, Hannah makes a startling discovering. The yacht, previously docked at the marina, has now been set free. They’re adrift, unpowered, with no harbor in sight.
The New Year’s Eve party has suddenly turned into a desperate fight for survival, but how and why?
When someone disappears, the stakes are raised even higher? Is there a murderer in their midst? Will any of them survive, or will they all go down with the ship?
The Yacht is the epitome of a Popcorn Thriller. We have an exciting destination, an OTT-circumstance, an unlikable group of characters and a fast-paced race to the end.
I had a lot of fun reading this. I enjoyed Hannah’s perspective. There were times, of course, when I wanted to shake her, but I was also fully in her corner.
Some of these other characters were absolutely reprehensible and I wanted to get away from them as badly as Hannah did.
I enjoyed how Goodwin truly turned this one into a survival story, in the truest sense of the term. That bit was unexpected and I liked that she actually took it there.
I was happy to go along with Hannah on this journey. Even though my heart broke for her at times, particularly in the last couple of scenes, I was pleased with her growth and the ultimate conclusion.
I would recommend this one to any Reader who loves OTT-dramatic, messy friendship stories. Particularly if you are into Survival Thrillers.
Thank you to the publisher, Avon, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to more from this author!