Thriller set in the Pacific Ocean (“they had found Paradise….”) Plus Author Q and A

  • Book: The Blue
  • Location: New Zealand (Aotearoa), Pacific Ocean
  • Author: Lucy Clarke

Review Author: tripfiction

Location

Content

“They had found Paradise. What would they do to keep it?”

Lana and Kitty are best friends from childhood, locked together through a shared loss of their mothers and a childhood spent in each other’s company. They are close. When Lana decides that her Father has acted irresponsibly, the two young women spin a globe, and  head spontaneously to the Philippines.

A hot and sultry destination, they learn to thread their way through the tangled streets of a coastal town, dodging three wheelers, mayhem and animals. Very soon they meet the crew members of The Blue, a yacht skippered by Aaron and other young people, and after an initial taster they are on board for the duration.

The yacht is headed for Palau, across a vast stretch of the Pacific Ocean, with the odd tropical island stop on the way. The crew inevitably has to contend with cramped quarters and find ways of getting along, and initially all goes smoothly, it’s an exhilarating, magical and carefree existence. But Lana in particular is sensing an unease that bothers her, the dynamics between the group start to shift, subtly at first, but gradually the claustrophobia of living below deck, and lack of sleep brought about by the rota for keeping watch increases. The author starkly portrays the tensions and mistrust, the proximity of characters in a confined space, the back-biting, and shifting dynamics. This is Paradise going sour. The storm brewing in the boat is mirrored by a storm at sea and things come to a searing head that shatters their co-existence as relationships fracture, and mistrust seeps into every crevice. Death arrives.

That was “THEN”, as each chapter is titled. “NOW” finds Lana in New Zealand, several months later, where she learns that The Blue has sunk 100 nautical miles off the New Zealand coast. She is still coming to terms with the ending of her time on the boat – an important period in her life, devastating and raw. She left the boat in Palau, leaving Kitty on board after a monumental falling out, and the backstory for the ruction is pieced together as she looks back to “THEN”. But who will be rescued from the boat? As the survivors come in, Lana anxiously looks for the familiar faces. Relatives arrive. Tensions mount.

This is a gripping read that has all the flavour and complexity of life on board a small yacht. There are beautiful – and scary – tropical island adventures; there are miles of blank sea; there are shifting dynamics between the crew members…

This review first appeared on our blog where we chat to author Lucy Clarke

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