The Stowaway Review

Author: James S. Murray &

              Darren Wearmouth

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: Sept. 21, 2021

Order Link: Amazon

My Rating: 4.5 Chilling Hearts

Special thank to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book.

From internationally bestselling authors James Murray and Darren Wearmouth comes The Stowaway, a suspenseful masterpiece that leaves a cruise ship stranded at sea with a serial killer hiding aboard…

Review:

Luxury trans-ocean cruises are everyone's fantasy of the perfect holiday, right?  But what if you were trapped, stuck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with a serial killer on board?  And you know you and your children are his ultimate goal?  That's the predicament Maria Fontana finds herself in when she and her fiance Steve and her two young children go on a much needed cruise in an effort to close the chapter on a horrific ordeal in their lives.  Maria was the deciding vote on the jury that set notorious killer Butler free two years ago.  During the outrage that followed the trial, Maria stepped up and admitted casting the one not guilty vote in an effort to take the focus off the other jurors.  As a result, she was chastised my friends, coworkers and on social media.  Now two years later, she's trying to put the nightmare behind her and enjoy a vacation with her family.  Imagine her horror when the mutilated bodies of young children are discovered on the ship . . . chopped into pieces exactly like Butler's signature killings.  When ship authorities don't believe her when she tells them it must be Butler, she begins an investigation of her own . . . and becomes the hunted.  She will protect her children even if it means giving her own life and so she sets a trap for the killer.  

The Stowaway was chilling from beginning to end.  I literally read this book in one setting, and yes, I read it with all the lights on.  The threatening tone drives an escalating pace as Maria's desperation rises to the point of hysteria.    The authors have penned a dark, intense thriller that gave me goosebumps.  Before it was over, I suspected everyone of being Butler as he's a master of disguise.  I also suspected others of being a copycat killer as a few well developed red herrings muddy the waters in this case.  I highly recommend jumping into this one blind, and let this thriller carry you away as it did me.  Fans of mystery, suspense and thrillers are going to devour this one!

Synopsis:

Two years ago, Maria Fontana was the deciding vote on a jury that set alleged serial killer Wyatt Butler free. Now, she and her family are enjoying vacation on a two week long transatlantic cruise. But when passengers are discovered brutally murdered in a similar way to Butler’s ritualistic MO, the ship goes on lockdown. Maria, one of only twelve people in the world with intimate knowledge of the case, faces a perilous ticking clock. Is it a copycat? Or is she trapped on board with the bloodthirsty maniac she chose to set free?