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Sail - A Review
Introduction
An Emotion of Survival and Greed
The first thing I noticed is that it is full of emotion. It has everything in it, love, desperation, fear, anger, and compassion. You get a real sense of the relationship between the characters. The book is gripped with suspense and wrapped in dark secrets, with a touch of detective work. All the way through there are hints of pain, sympathy and grief, the raw feeling you get from the main characters is overwhelming. However, under the surface of what was going on, survival and greed was at the heart of the storyline.
James Patterson and Howard Roughan have constructed and beautifully woven a tale of lost at sea with a touch of murder. ‘Sail’ is an epic, with all the thrills and spills that you would want in a novel. Heart-beating moments that want you to keep turning the page. Half detective, half thriller, Patterson and Roughan have written a story that is completely breath-taking and chillingly cold in the way in which it develops. ‘Sail’ captures the power that wealth can give and encapsulates in a hair-raising battle between survival and deception. I just love it!
Standing on Trial: The Characters
Unlike any other book that I have read, Patterson and Roughan introduces the Dunne family (the crew as it were) in a unique way before starting the story. It was like reading a list of suspects before a trial, but quickly realised that it laid down the relationships between them and gave an insight into their character before you began reading. Dr Katherine Dunne, a heart surgeon, is at the front line of this dysfunctional family, her long hours at the hospital and not spending time with her kids has enabled the relationship between her and them break down almost completely. Not to mention her trauma over the loss of her first husband, Stuart.
Synopsis:
As Peter Carlyle, a smooth-talking, super-successful lawyer, waved his family off on a sailing trip, all they had in mind was lying back and relaxing. But when a violent storm broke out, an explosion caused the boat to vanish without a trace and the family were lost, presumed dead.
Until now. When a message in a bottle is found, it becomes apparent that there must have been at least one survivor
The race is on to rescue the family, but does everyone looking for them really want to find them alive? Survival may be the least of their concerns. In fact, being found may be the last thing they should be hoping for …
Out all of the Dunne members, it seems, Jake is more of a carefree man. A yachtsman that knows the water like a fish in the sea. His happy and jokey nature, with a firm hand, gives the family a ray of hope – maybe not all of them are miserable. Jake Dunne was the man who kept the boat afloat during turbulent times and steered the family on what should have been a stress-free holiday. On the contrary, the kids, Mark, Carrie, and Ernie are a mess of their own. Mark Dunne looks on life with no ambition, no time to bust his ass at school, and a stoner too. The middle one out of the three kids and always seems to pick a fight, however he’s brave and courageous – a key to survival maybe?
Quite the opposite to Mark is Carrie Dunne, a solemn, depressed girl who often thought of suicide. Her struggle with life and the relationship with her mother, Katherine, dominates her character in the book. The sailing trip, or the trauma of it, possibly pieces her together and makes her strong, maybe even giving her a new view in life. The last, and youngest, member of the Dunne household is Ernie, a quiet boy and one who is unphased by anything. It is him that keeps his mother going, even if the world around her is falling apart, and is the one who by stroke genius may have kept the fight for survival alive.
Peter Carlyle, Katherine’s new husband, is a multi-successful lawyer. A wealthy man, a man of power, a man who gets what he wants. At first you think he is just a background character, someone who is just part of Katherine’s back story. However, as the book develops you realise he’s not, there’s more to him than meets the eye and is increasingly suspicious as the book unfolds. There’s a possible girlfriend (Bailey) and his grief-stricken feelings become away to hide his true emotions towards Katherine and the kids. Is he good or bad? You decide.
And finally, there is Agent Ellen, a member of the DEA. She is always off on dangerous missions and tracking down bad guys around the world. One of America’s top agents. Ellen again seemed to be a background character, well I did at first anyway, but as you went further into the book, she became an integral part of the story. Her hunch over Peter leads her on the case of the missing ‘Family Dunne’ and their disappearance. But it is a dangerous mission as someone tries to stop her in her tracks. Can she solve the case? You’ll have to read the book and see for yourself.
A Real Page Turner: The Plot
The book takes a genuine holiday scenario and tips it on its head. It has all the drama and emotion of a holiday gone wrong, with a mixture of mystery and crime thrown in as well. The story starts with getting to know the Dunne family and the possible ‘bad feeling’ about going on the sailing trip. Quickly the storyline unravels as right from the beginning there are problems on the boat, emotions rising and tensions between the family members. The bounce between scenes on the ‘Family Dunne’, mainland America, and the Bahamas allow the book to remain alive. Without this I believe the book would have been stuck in a rut.
While for some part of the book it is just the Dunne family stuck with nowhere to go, marooned really, there are bits within those scenes that make you want to turn the page. I honestly couldn’t put the book down sometimes. The introduction to Ellen, the DEA agent, and Peter’s supposed girlfriend, makes the book even more gripping as it brings another dimension to the storyline. A large part of the book revolves around the search and rescue mission, however as we know from the back cover not everyone looking is wanting to find them alive. A shocking revelation when you find who. With twists at every corner and each chapter better than the last, I guarantee that you will be paralysed from sailing through the troubled waters of this brilliant book.
A Thriller of Chills: Style and Genre
At first, the style is like any other book you have read; however, the size and number of chapters is surprising. The majority of chapters are around three pages long and there is over a hundred chapters. To me this is quite unusual and while the large number may sound daunting, their small size makes it much more bearable. The use of flash backs and descriptive language enables the reader to move with the story and fully immerse themselves within it. The way Patterson and Roughan have written the book not only takes you on a journey, but delivers a mystery and detective nature to it as well.
For genre, ‘Sail’ is a mixture of crime, mystery and thriller. While it is mostly categorised as a thriller, there are tantalising clues within the book to suggest that mystery and crime are a feature too. Although I felt on the edge it didn’t keep me awake at night – which is probably a good thing, right? – However, the combination of genres gives the book a dynamic feel to it and unique in a way.
Not Recommending It is a Crime Itself
Would I recommend this book? Well that’s a rhetorical question to be honest with you. This book is so good, so thrilling, that anyone who loves crime or a thriller, or even James Patterson for that matter should read this wonderful book. It will have you gripped and transferred into a world of despair, deceit, and romance; you will want to find hope and peace for the Dunne family and to figure out who and why they wanted them to disappear. It is a book that is beautifully written and brilliantly executed, a wonder for everyone.
Happy Reading Guys!!
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