The Lifeboat

by Charlotte Rogan
January 20-February 5, 2013

Remember the phenomena around the Titanic when the movie came out? And then the treasure found at the bottom of the Atlantic went on tour to museums everywhere? The passenger I was assigned to on that tour died. I don't remember her name. Out of the 12 or so of us who went to that exhibit, only one was assigned a survivor. I'm oddly fascinated by this stuff. So it was a no-brainer when I read a review about The Lifeboat and it was on sale for the kindle.

Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, Grace and her new husband, Henry, are embarking on a journey aboard the Empress Alexandra. An explosion in the control room begins the demise of the boat, and Grace finds herself aboard an overcrowded lifeboat with no sign on Henry. While the passengers struggle for survival, death is chosen by others for others in order to keep the boat afloat. Told as a flashback through Grace's journal, we discover that Grace is on trial for murder.

Reading about how people were chosen to live or die was crazy and intriguing. I could feel the thirst and hunger these people endured (I won't say here how long they were in the boat; that may be a spoiler). After the rescue, when Grace was on trial for her own life, I may have gotten a little lost. Plus, the resolution at the end was neatly tucked-in and could have easily been passed over (I kind of liked that). I also think that there may have been a bigger picture to the plot, but I'm not sure I fully recognized it. That's OK though, I still found it to be a quick read and a page-turner for sure.

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