Item: Dead Below Deck
Rating: 4.00
Author: quirkycat

by Jan Gangsei

When an heiress disappears from her superyacht and security footage shows her getting pushed, the main suspect has to prove her innocence in this thrilling mystery at sea told in reverse chronological order, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Genuine Fraud.

It was supposed to be the best-ever girls’ trip: five days, four friends, one luxury yacht, no parents. But on the final night, as the yacht cruised the deep and dark waters between Florida and Grand Cayman, eighteen-year-old heiress Giselle vanished. She’s nowhere to be found the next morning even after a frantic search, until security footage surfaces . . . showing Maggie pushing her overboard.

But Maggie has no memory of what happened. All she knows is that she woke up with a throbbing headache, thousands of dollars in cash in her safe, a passport that isn’t hers, and Giselle’s diary. And while Maggie had her own reasons to want Giselle dead, so did everyone else on board: jealous Viv, calculating Emi, even some members of the staff.

What really went down on the top deck that night? Maggie will have to work her way backward to uncover the secrets that everyone—even Giselle—kept below deck or she’s dead in the water.

Jan Gangsei crafts a compulsively readable tale of privilege, family, and identity wrapped in a wholly original mystery that will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the final twist.

Book Summary:

Who can say no to a fun girls' trip? Especially when there's a yacht, luxury, and boatloads of money involved. Unfortunately, this friend group probably should have found alternative plans. Now Giselle is missing, presumed overboard, leaving everyone to scramble and pick up the pieces.

More importantly, it's leaving Maggie in the lurch. She had a plan for this trip, and becoming suspect number one for murder was not on the list of things to do. So, she must work backward and figure out what happened here.

My Review:

Okay, it’s official. I’m adding Jan Gangsei to my list of thriller authors to watch! Dead Below Deck was SO much fun to read. Yes, it had similar vibes to a few other thrillers, but I really enjoyed the different elements she wove into the mix (and I would argue that overall, I’m happier with this take over some of the others I’ve read).

First, I have always loved a good multiple-perspective thriller. Dead Below Deck has that in spades, with a journal adding perspective and intentional confusion. It was interesting getting to see Giselle’s written story in relation to the story Maggie was telling us.

Second, it’s safe to say that this is an unreliable narrator tale, as it doesn’t take long for Maggie and Giselle’s stories to conflict. The question is - which one is lying to us? That was a fun twist to try and suss out, and it kept me invested through to the end.

Highlights:
YA Thriller
Reverse Chronological Order
Multiple Perspectives

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Dead Below Deck

by Jan Gangsei

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on Sep 8, 2024

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