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The Blue
They had found paradise.
What would they do to keep it?
With a quick spin of the globe, Kitty and Lana
escape their grey reality and journey to the Philippines.
There they discover The Blue – a beautiful yacht,
with a wandering crew.
They spend day after languorous day exploring the pristine
white beaches and swimming beneath the stars, and Lana
drifts further away from the long-buried secrets of home.
But the tide turns when death creeps quietly on deck.
A dangerous swell of mistrust and lies threatens to bring
the crew’s adventures to an end – but some won’t
let paradise go…whatever the price.
What would they do to keep it?
With a quick spin of the globe, Kitty and Lana
escape their grey reality and journey to the Philippines.
There they discover The Blue – a beautiful yacht,
with a wandering crew.
They spend day after languorous day exploring the pristine
white beaches and swimming beneath the stars, and Lana
drifts further away from the long-buried secrets of home.
But the tide turns when death creeps quietly on deck.
A dangerous swell of mistrust and lies threatens to bring
the crew’s adventures to an end – but some won’t
let paradise go…whatever the price.
391 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2015
947 people are currently reading
8609 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Clarke
22 books3,089 followersSunday Times bestseller Lucy Clarke is the author of nine destination thrillers. They include Waterstones Thriller of the Month, The Castaways, Richard and Judy Book Club pick, One of the Girls, and international bestseller, The Hike - and her most recent novel, The Surf House. Lucy's novels have sold over a million copies in the UK alone and are published in more than 25 territories worldwide.
Lucy's thriller, No Escape has been released as a major international show for Paramount+. The Castaways has also been adapted into a five-part thriller for Paramount+ and stars BAFTA award-winner Sheridan Smith. Three further novels by Lucy are currently in development for TV/film.
When Lucy isn't away on research trips (the real reason she loves being an author!), she can be found writing from a beach hut on the south coast of England. She lives with her husband and their two children.
Say hello:
Instagram @lucyclarke_author
Facebook: lucyclarkeauthor
Lucy's thriller, No Escape has been released as a major international show for Paramount+. The Castaways has also been adapted into a five-part thriller for Paramount+ and stars BAFTA award-winner Sheridan Smith. Three further novels by Lucy are currently in development for TV/film.
When Lucy isn't away on research trips (the real reason she loves being an author!), she can be found writing from a beach hut on the south coast of England. She lives with her husband and their two children.
Say hello:
Instagram @lucyclarke_author
Facebook: lucyclarkeauthor
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August 19, 2017The Kindle edition is currently on special offer - 0.99p in the UK. Not sure about other territories. When I bought it, the title changed to 'No Escape' as it was previously published as 'The Blue.'
December 22, 2022
Lana Lowe and her lifelong best friend, Kitty Berry, flee England for the adventure of traveling throughout the Philippines together. Looking for a little adventure, they exchange their troubled lives at home for sun, sand, and exotic locales. So when they randomly meet a vagabond group of sailors who call the stunning fifty foot yacht, The Blue, home, they are both instantly filled with envy. And, thinking they’ve discovered the perfect escape, Lana and Kitty quickly accept the invitation to join the motley crew.
Between the freedom Lana finds at sea and the camaraderie of her fellow wanderers, she thinks she’s found nirvana. Paradise, however, can come at a cost. Because each of them have secrets. Secrets they’d each do nearly anything to keep hidden. All comes to a head when one of their group vanishes overboard following an argument. As the group unravels, secrets begin to come to light. Will the truth destroy the delicate friendships that have formed during the passage? And what danger will the dark truths put them all in?
I had a tough time with The Blue. On one hand, it was a beautiful tale of friendship, secrets, and dreams of paradise. But on the other it’s a hard to classify novel that is neither thriller nor domestic suspense like I expected. I guess it is women’s lit…sort of. That is where I found my issue with it as, after reading the book flap, I assumed there were going to be secrets, lies, and twists galore. You know, the standard thriller. When it lacked that aspect I found myself disappointed, despite the fact that I really enjoyed the novel. So maybe this is more my issue versus a problem with the plot or characters.
Lucy Clarke has a magical way with language, evoking what it would feel like being on a multi-day passage across the Philippine Sea. The isolation and petty squabbles that are all eclipsed by the sensation of being on a sailboat surrounded by nothing but water. As a former sailor myself, she nailed this aspect, making me think I could almost smell the salt, hear the chinking of halyards, and feel the deck rolling beneath my feet.
Told in dual timelines: before and after Lana leaves The Blue, the plot felt unpredictable and surprising. Beautifully describing Lana’s building paranoia as she makes rash decisions, her character is well-defined and authentic. The others, however, felt a little flat to me and, by keeping many of their pasts secret, their backgrounds felt slightly forsaken.
All in all, an enjoyable story that took me away from a freezing December day to the balmy, sunlight-filled shores of the Southeast Asian islands. While the tension and suspense may have been lacking for much of the novel (about three-quarters of it), the last 100 apprehension and anxiety-filled pages mostly made up for the slow burn start. And with two big secrets that are slowly revealed, there’s no shortage of suspicion and lies. If you enjoy complicated group dynamics, exotic locales, and tons of buried secrets, I definitely recommend reading this book. Rating of 4 stars.
Trigger warning: parental abandonment, alcoholism, suicide
Between the freedom Lana finds at sea and the camaraderie of her fellow wanderers, she thinks she’s found nirvana. Paradise, however, can come at a cost. Because each of them have secrets. Secrets they’d each do nearly anything to keep hidden. All comes to a head when one of their group vanishes overboard following an argument. As the group unravels, secrets begin to come to light. Will the truth destroy the delicate friendships that have formed during the passage? And what danger will the dark truths put them all in?
I had a tough time with The Blue. On one hand, it was a beautiful tale of friendship, secrets, and dreams of paradise. But on the other it’s a hard to classify novel that is neither thriller nor domestic suspense like I expected. I guess it is women’s lit…sort of. That is where I found my issue with it as, after reading the book flap, I assumed there were going to be secrets, lies, and twists galore. You know, the standard thriller. When it lacked that aspect I found myself disappointed, despite the fact that I really enjoyed the novel. So maybe this is more my issue versus a problem with the plot or characters.
Lucy Clarke has a magical way with language, evoking what it would feel like being on a multi-day passage across the Philippine Sea. The isolation and petty squabbles that are all eclipsed by the sensation of being on a sailboat surrounded by nothing but water. As a former sailor myself, she nailed this aspect, making me think I could almost smell the salt, hear the chinking of halyards, and feel the deck rolling beneath my feet.
Told in dual timelines: before and after Lana leaves The Blue, the plot felt unpredictable and surprising. Beautifully describing Lana’s building paranoia as she makes rash decisions, her character is well-defined and authentic. The others, however, felt a little flat to me and, by keeping many of their pasts secret, their backgrounds felt slightly forsaken.
All in all, an enjoyable story that took me away from a freezing December day to the balmy, sunlight-filled shores of the Southeast Asian islands. While the tension and suspense may have been lacking for much of the novel (about three-quarters of it), the last 100 apprehension and anxiety-filled pages mostly made up for the slow burn start. And with two big secrets that are slowly revealed, there’s no shortage of suspicion and lies. If you enjoy complicated group dynamics, exotic locales, and tons of buried secrets, I definitely recommend reading this book. Rating of 4 stars.
Trigger warning: parental abandonment, alcoholism, suicide
February 6, 2019
When I hear CSN’s Southern Cross I always tear up. The Blue of the title of this book is a 50 ft. offshore sailing yacht. Had I the chance to join her crew when I was young, I’d have been off like a shot. Hell, I’d be already aboard even now if they’d have me. Even knowing how the voyage will end.
I’d rank this book with The Secret History & The LIkeness as a gripping story of friendship, belonging, commitment - as well as deceit, deception & death. There is little you can experience to match crewing a sailing yacht offshore for sheer intensity & a sense of belonging. Aboard The Blue we have the skipper, Aaron, a thirty-some New Zealander & a pick-up crew of early twenty-somethings: Denny, another Kiwi, Heinrich a German ex-tennis pro, Joseph a French former diving champion, Shell a Canadian jewellery maker, & two English girls who are BFs, Kitty, an aspiring actress, & Lana, an artist. From Lana’s POV we get the story in two time frames, what happened aboard the yacht during a passage from the Philippines to Palau & Lana’s thoughts eight months later when she’s living in New Zealand & The Blue is posted missing.
Aaron has a ‘no-relationships’ rule aboard the boat. That makes sense because everyone aboard already has a very high maintenance relationship with the yacht herself & in such a confined space there’s no room for hanky-panky & the rivalries & hurt feelings that would ensue. Not, as we might expect, that the rule won’t be flouted & with the girls being two BFs & a Lesbian, the mixture is pretty volatile. Then Joseph, who was supposed to have left the crew in the Philippines, is discovered as a stowaway when they're two days @ sea. During a night watch Joseph mysteriously disappears. As Lana was passed out from too much partying at the time, she doesn’t know what happened to him. Did he go over the side by accident, or was it suicide, or foul play? And what should Lana, & the rest of the crew, do?
Lana’s initial response is that they should ‘inform “the Authorities”’ about Joseph when they reach Palau, & I am sure that many readers will think the same. But that is not what the skipper & the majority of the crew, including Kitty, decide. I put the expression ‘the Authorities’ in scare commas because it is so ambiguous - I wondered that none of characters, especially Aaron who is supposed to have been a barrister, ask Lana the question, ‘What ‘Authorities”?” There is no official record that Joseph was aboard The Blue. He vanished on the high seas whilst on passage to the tiny Republic of Palau. (I’d barely heard of it before.) Joseph was a citizen of France. The Blue was registered in New Zealand & her skipper a Kiwi. So presumably the ultimate ‘Authority’ determining the disposal of Joseph’s case would be a coroner’s court in Auckland whose only evidence would have been whatever the crew of the The Blue told them. The Blue would have impounded & probably lost to pay legal fees however the case turned out.
This is the kind of moral dilemma that fascinates me. I think if I’d been in Lana’s situation when I was young I would have gone along with the skipper & crew, & I am absolutely certain I would now. It’s a question of loyalty & belonging, to the yacht & to the rest of the crew. But then had I been one of the Whitethorn House residents in Tana French’s The Likeness I’d have kept quiet about what happened to Lexie, who unlike Joseph I actually loved. And Whitethorn was just an old house. The Blue is a boat! Thank Heavens I’ve never had to decide something like that in real life. (Of course in The Secret History I would’ve helped dispose of Bunny too.)
I’d rank The Blue almost with The Likeness & The Secret History as contemporary tragedies. The setting, aboard a yacht on the high seas, is worthy of Conrad. But tho’ The Blue is clearly a five star (it disturbed my dreams last night - really) the characters, especially Lana, don’t quite achieve the level high tragedy requires. Given what we learn of his backstory, Aaron has the ingredients for truly tragic status, but we learn too little too late. (No, he does not resemble another classic sea-captain whose name begins with the same letter. But I would have had him as like Captain Lingard in Conrad’s The Rescue.) Lana seems to be another of those characters we keep encountering who are faced with a moral dilemma she hasn’t the education & ethos to know how to handle, who cannot distinguish between what’s legal & what’s right. Now that you’ve seen what a reviewer who thinks he does have those qualities would do, you might prefer to sail with a legalist like Lana. But for me in this particular case, what happens on the high seas should stay on the boat.
But fortunately for the reader & for Lana, the mystery doesn’t go down with the boat. The ending perfectly satisfied me, and as a tragic romance this is a wonderful story, & one I expect I shall continue to reflect on & to relate to the person I want to be. Every reader who enjoys sea-stories & stories about relationships & moral & spiritual issues should love it. It was also a wonderful audio travelling companion. Scarlett Mack was a superb narrator. She do the characters in different voices, Kiwi, English, North American perfectly to my ear. Her narrative voice I couldn’t quite place but I loved it. She pronounced ‘lower’ to sound almost like ‘lure’ to an American & her pronunciation of ‘palm’ like ‘Pam’ is the old nautical way - that’s how you say the name of the sailmakers tool.
I’d rank this book with The Secret History & The LIkeness as a gripping story of friendship, belonging, commitment - as well as deceit, deception & death. There is little you can experience to match crewing a sailing yacht offshore for sheer intensity & a sense of belonging. Aboard The Blue we have the skipper, Aaron, a thirty-some New Zealander & a pick-up crew of early twenty-somethings: Denny, another Kiwi, Heinrich a German ex-tennis pro, Joseph a French former diving champion, Shell a Canadian jewellery maker, & two English girls who are BFs, Kitty, an aspiring actress, & Lana, an artist. From Lana’s POV we get the story in two time frames, what happened aboard the yacht during a passage from the Philippines to Palau & Lana’s thoughts eight months later when she’s living in New Zealand & The Blue is posted missing.
Aaron has a ‘no-relationships’ rule aboard the boat. That makes sense because everyone aboard already has a very high maintenance relationship with the yacht herself & in such a confined space there’s no room for hanky-panky & the rivalries & hurt feelings that would ensue. Not, as we might expect, that the rule won’t be flouted & with the girls being two BFs & a Lesbian, the mixture is pretty volatile. Then Joseph, who was supposed to have left the crew in the Philippines, is discovered as a stowaway when they're two days @ sea. During a night watch Joseph mysteriously disappears. As Lana was passed out from too much partying at the time, she doesn’t know what happened to him. Did he go over the side by accident, or was it suicide, or foul play? And what should Lana, & the rest of the crew, do?
Lana’s initial response is that they should ‘inform “the Authorities”’ about Joseph when they reach Palau, & I am sure that many readers will think the same. But that is not what the skipper & the majority of the crew, including Kitty, decide. I put the expression ‘the Authorities’ in scare commas because it is so ambiguous - I wondered that none of characters, especially Aaron who is supposed to have been a barrister, ask Lana the question, ‘What ‘Authorities”?” There is no official record that Joseph was aboard The Blue. He vanished on the high seas whilst on passage to the tiny Republic of Palau. (I’d barely heard of it before.) Joseph was a citizen of France. The Blue was registered in New Zealand & her skipper a Kiwi. So presumably the ultimate ‘Authority’ determining the disposal of Joseph’s case would be a coroner’s court in Auckland whose only evidence would have been whatever the crew of the The Blue told them. The Blue would have impounded & probably lost to pay legal fees however the case turned out.
This is the kind of moral dilemma that fascinates me. I think if I’d been in Lana’s situation when I was young I would have gone along with the skipper & crew, & I am absolutely certain I would now. It’s a question of loyalty & belonging, to the yacht & to the rest of the crew. But then had I been one of the Whitethorn House residents in Tana French’s The Likeness I’d have kept quiet about what happened to Lexie, who unlike Joseph I actually loved. And Whitethorn was just an old house. The Blue is a boat! Thank Heavens I’ve never had to decide something like that in real life. (Of course in The Secret History I would’ve helped dispose of Bunny too.)
I’d rank The Blue almost with The Likeness & The Secret History as contemporary tragedies. The setting, aboard a yacht on the high seas, is worthy of Conrad. But tho’ The Blue is clearly a five star (it disturbed my dreams last night - really) the characters, especially Lana, don’t quite achieve the level high tragedy requires. Given what we learn of his backstory, Aaron has the ingredients for truly tragic status, but we learn too little too late. (No, he does not resemble another classic sea-captain whose name begins with the same letter. But I would have had him as like Captain Lingard in Conrad’s The Rescue.) Lana seems to be another of those characters we keep encountering who are faced with a moral dilemma she hasn’t the education & ethos to know how to handle, who cannot distinguish between what’s legal & what’s right. Now that you’ve seen what a reviewer who thinks he does have those qualities would do, you might prefer to sail with a legalist like Lana. But for me in this particular case, what happens on the high seas should stay on the boat.
But fortunately for the reader & for Lana, the mystery doesn’t go down with the boat. The ending perfectly satisfied me, and as a tragic romance this is a wonderful story, & one I expect I shall continue to reflect on & to relate to the person I want to be. Every reader who enjoys sea-stories & stories about relationships & moral & spiritual issues should love it. It was also a wonderful audio travelling companion. Scarlett Mack was a superb narrator. She do the characters in different voices, Kiwi, English, North American perfectly to my ear. Her narrative voice I couldn’t quite place but I loved it. She pronounced ‘lower’ to sound almost like ‘lure’ to an American & her pronunciation of ‘palm’ like ‘Pam’ is the old nautical way - that’s how you say the name of the sailmakers tool.
August 2, 2015
The Blue was a beautifully addictive novel, the tale of a friendship put to the test and a tense psychological thriller with some really great characters.
Lana and Kitty have been friends since childhood - both looking to escape home for different reasons, they set off on the trip of a lifetime. When they meet the crew of "The Blue" they slip into what seems on the surface to be an idyllic and easy going lifestyle sailing from place to place. But underlying tensions and secrets threaten the very fabric of their friendship - then tragedy strikes.
The Blue is perfect summer reading, the setting is fascinating and well described and the group dynamic that Lucy Clarke develops is utterly engaging. By virtue of flashback we see how Lana and Kitty came to be, and came to be here, and start learning about events aboard The Blue that lead Lana to leave.
The story has a wonderful flow to it, you will really get caught up in the lives of this small eclectic group of people - the author walks the line between tense mystery and captivating character drama really well, blending in the background perfectly to create an outstanding read that will grip you from first page to last.
Overall then, a really great escapist read - I've had "A Single Breath" sat on my shelf for a while now, one of those books that fell accidentally into my basket on one particular shopping spree - and boy am I now moving that one up the pile.
Terrific Stuff. Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading Folks!
Lana and Kitty have been friends since childhood - both looking to escape home for different reasons, they set off on the trip of a lifetime. When they meet the crew of "The Blue" they slip into what seems on the surface to be an idyllic and easy going lifestyle sailing from place to place. But underlying tensions and secrets threaten the very fabric of their friendship - then tragedy strikes.
The Blue is perfect summer reading, the setting is fascinating and well described and the group dynamic that Lucy Clarke develops is utterly engaging. By virtue of flashback we see how Lana and Kitty came to be, and came to be here, and start learning about events aboard The Blue that lead Lana to leave.
The story has a wonderful flow to it, you will really get caught up in the lives of this small eclectic group of people - the author walks the line between tense mystery and captivating character drama really well, blending in the background perfectly to create an outstanding read that will grip you from first page to last.
Overall then, a really great escapist read - I've had "A Single Breath" sat on my shelf for a while now, one of those books that fell accidentally into my basket on one particular shopping spree - and boy am I now moving that one up the pile.
Terrific Stuff. Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading Folks!
October 18, 2022
I was looking for a trashy thriller, but, what I got instead was a great drama that brought back a lot of memories.
Don't go into this one expecting a thriller of any kind. This is not that.
It's an adventure/drama set on a boat in and around the Philippines. There is a mystery that slowly unfolds, but, that's It. No real suspense, or chills and thrills. If that sounds like your kind of story - then I highly recommend It. I've read one of Lucy Clarke's books before -Castaways- which was pretty good. I found this one to be much better, with some great writing that -at times- made me feel like I was on the boat myself.
Yes, there's a few Clichés here and there, and... maybe I'm letting nostalgia get the better of me. Either way - I don't care. I loved it.
4.5 Stars.
Don't go into this one expecting a thriller of any kind. This is not that.
It's an adventure/drama set on a boat in and around the Philippines. There is a mystery that slowly unfolds, but, that's It. No real suspense, or chills and thrills. If that sounds like your kind of story - then I highly recommend It. I've read one of Lucy Clarke's books before -Castaways- which was pretty good. I found this one to be much better, with some great writing that -at times- made me feel like I was on the boat myself.
Yes, there's a few Clichés here and there, and... maybe I'm letting nostalgia get the better of me. Either way - I don't care. I loved it.
4.5 Stars.
October 12, 2023
2.5 star rounded up
Looking at the elements of 'No Escape', it should have been a five-star read. A prologue that starts the book with a body in the water. A mystery disclosed over two intercut timelines Now and Then where the Now is in crisis and who, if anyone, survived is unknown and you know the Then is doomed even before you have any idea of why. Secrets on board. Beautiful people in a gorgeous location living a life away from care. Two young women, best friends since childhood, escape from their cares in the UK and reinvent themselves on a gorgeous yacht, All of which is spiced up by deadly violence, betrayals of trust, a covert romance and crewmates with dark pasts and deep secrets.
Despite all that, I nearly set this book aside a couple of times and, although I finished it, I found it unsatisfying, like a sponge cake that hasn't risen properly where knowing what it could have been only deepens your disappointment.
So what was it that didn't work?
Firstly, the pace: it drags at times. I felt the book could have been a third shorter. I could see that information was being held back to create suspense but it just made me want to get on with things. The narrative seemed to me to meander rather than move forward.
Secondly, the main characters, Lana and Kitty, were not very interesting. They were two slightly shallow young women who ran away from their lives: Kitty because she likes to party and be where Lana is and Lana because -boo hoo- her daddy lied to her - how unbearably sad is that? OK, maybe I'm lacking a little empathy here, but if The Blue had been my boat, neither one of them would have been invited to join the crew. The problem for me was that the story is told from Lana's point of view and I was clearly meant to share her joy and pain, not be sitting there wondering when she would grow up.
Thirdly, too much of what makes the plot work is disclosed in a confessional rush in the final chapters. I thought it was a clever and plausible plot that got buried under Lana's overwrought angst and then suffered from being disclosed as a tell rather than a show.
Still, I'm sure it will make a good TV mini-series for Paramount+: beautiful locations, beautiful people, a little sex, a little violence, secrets and lies. With the right director and camera work, it should be fun
Looking at the elements of 'No Escape', it should have been a five-star read. A prologue that starts the book with a body in the water. A mystery disclosed over two intercut timelines Now and Then where the Now is in crisis and who, if anyone, survived is unknown and you know the Then is doomed even before you have any idea of why. Secrets on board. Beautiful people in a gorgeous location living a life away from care. Two young women, best friends since childhood, escape from their cares in the UK and reinvent themselves on a gorgeous yacht, All of which is spiced up by deadly violence, betrayals of trust, a covert romance and crewmates with dark pasts and deep secrets.
Despite all that, I nearly set this book aside a couple of times and, although I finished it, I found it unsatisfying, like a sponge cake that hasn't risen properly where knowing what it could have been only deepens your disappointment.
So what was it that didn't work?
Firstly, the pace: it drags at times. I felt the book could have been a third shorter. I could see that information was being held back to create suspense but it just made me want to get on with things. The narrative seemed to me to meander rather than move forward.
Secondly, the main characters, Lana and Kitty, were not very interesting. They were two slightly shallow young women who ran away from their lives: Kitty because she likes to party and be where Lana is and Lana because -boo hoo- her daddy lied to her - how unbearably sad is that? OK, maybe I'm lacking a little empathy here, but if The Blue had been my boat, neither one of them would have been invited to join the crew. The problem for me was that the story is told from Lana's point of view and I was clearly meant to share her joy and pain, not be sitting there wondering when she would grow up.
Thirdly, too much of what makes the plot work is disclosed in a confessional rush in the final chapters. I thought it was a clever and plausible plot that got buried under Lana's overwrought angst and then suffered from being disclosed as a tell rather than a show.
Still, I'm sure it will make a good TV mini-series for Paramount+: beautiful locations, beautiful people, a little sex, a little violence, secrets and lies. With the right director and camera work, it should be fun
August 14, 2015
“The Blue” is Lucy Clarke's third novel, but the first novel I have read by this author. In “The Blue”, the author writes about the power of friendship, when faced with many obstacles. The major relationship in this story is between Lana and her best friend Kitty. This novel is a mystery thriller that has it all; romance, mystery, adventure and intrigue.
Wish I was on a Yacht…sailing off yonder to some undisclosed location…with the beating sun on my body, and the cold refreshing aqua water swirling at my feet. Nice to dream!
But not so for these people…
“An adventure novel about a group of friends whose journey around the world on a yacht turns from a trip to paradise into a chilling nightmare when one of them disappears at sea.”
When one of their friends disappears overboard…everything starts to unravel.
Lana and Kitty, best friends from childhood escape their boring lives in England to backpack in Asia. In the Philippines they are invited to join the crew of The Blue, a beautiful yacht sailing on a voyage beginning in the Philippines ending in New Zealand, expected to take as long as 8 months. The two women accepted the offer, and instantly fell in love with this new way of life. They spent their days exploring new islands, swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing.
This novel is written in two threads – “Then” and “Now”, and each chapter is devoted to unfolding the events of the trip, told through Lana’s POV. But the tension gradually builds and the reader sees that this is not the “perfect life”. Dark events, buried secrets, lies and deceit, leads to disaster for the yacht and its crew. No one knows who to trust. Unexpected twists and turns will have you guessing to the end. Switching from the “Then” and “Now”, allows the novel to unfold at a steady pace, while allowing for in-depth character development.
The seven characters in this book were very believable and all well developed. Everyone appears to be keeping a secret and no one is truthful about why they've come to The Blue. Who can you trust? The story is told mostly through Lana's point of view after she leaves the yacht, switching between the present, and her time on the yacht. I was drawn into the story because I had to know why Lana left the yacht, and left Kitty behind.
Many thanks to the author, Lucy Clarke, the publisher, Touchstone and Netgalley for the ARC of “The Blue”, in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.
Wish I was on a Yacht…sailing off yonder to some undisclosed location…with the beating sun on my body, and the cold refreshing aqua water swirling at my feet. Nice to dream!
But not so for these people…
“An adventure novel about a group of friends whose journey around the world on a yacht turns from a trip to paradise into a chilling nightmare when one of them disappears at sea.”
When one of their friends disappears overboard…everything starts to unravel.
Lana and Kitty, best friends from childhood escape their boring lives in England to backpack in Asia. In the Philippines they are invited to join the crew of The Blue, a beautiful yacht sailing on a voyage beginning in the Philippines ending in New Zealand, expected to take as long as 8 months. The two women accepted the offer, and instantly fell in love with this new way of life. They spent their days exploring new islands, swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing.
This novel is written in two threads – “Then” and “Now”, and each chapter is devoted to unfolding the events of the trip, told through Lana’s POV. But the tension gradually builds and the reader sees that this is not the “perfect life”. Dark events, buried secrets, lies and deceit, leads to disaster for the yacht and its crew. No one knows who to trust. Unexpected twists and turns will have you guessing to the end. Switching from the “Then” and “Now”, allows the novel to unfold at a steady pace, while allowing for in-depth character development.
The seven characters in this book were very believable and all well developed. Everyone appears to be keeping a secret and no one is truthful about why they've come to The Blue. Who can you trust? The story is told mostly through Lana's point of view after she leaves the yacht, switching between the present, and her time on the yacht. I was drawn into the story because I had to know why Lana left the yacht, and left Kitty behind.
Many thanks to the author, Lucy Clarke, the publisher, Touchstone and Netgalley for the ARC of “The Blue”, in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.
August 9, 2015
Lana and Kitty, best friends from childhood escape the doldrums of their lives in England to backpack in Asia. In the Philippines they are invited to join the crew of The Blue, a beautiful yacht sailing lazily through the Pacific islands. The girls are quickly seduced by the magic of the lifestyle; sailing from one beautiful island to the next, lazing on pristine beaches, diving on coral reefs, dining on fresh fish and exotic fruit and relaxing on deck drinking with new found friends. Life doesn't get any better than this but all the time you can feel the hint of something sinister lurking in the background. When something does go wrong, not only is their idyllic lifestyle but also their friendship threatened.
This is a gripping, addictive story. Written in two threads - Then and Now, events slowly unfold from the early wonder of the trip and the perfect life on board the yacht to the deeper, darker events that eventually lead to disaster for the yacht and its occupants. Long held secrets emerge, lies are told and friends betrayed until no one knows who to trust. The characters are complex and individual and their interactions with each other real. The tension builds slowly in this very atmospheric novel like a tropical storm getting ready to suddenly let loose. Even as you think you know what has happened, there are unexpected twists and revelations that have you guessing to the end. Highly recommended to all lovers of mysteries and thrillers!
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher fora copy of this book to read and review
August 11, 2025
This was a decent read but nothing groundbreaking, I liked the duel timeline and the descriptions of the sea/boat were really well done. It took a while for this book to get going and there were a lot of little revelations throughout but there wasn't any big moments really I think the biggest reveal was a little weak.
I did enjoy the who did it and the back and fourth Lucy Clarke really made it hard for the reader to trust any of the characters. I don't think my rating was helped by the fact that I didn't like the main character all that much and found her selfish and annoying. I will say thought the epilogue was really well done!
I did enjoy the who did it and the back and fourth Lucy Clarke really made it hard for the reader to trust any of the characters. I don't think my rating was helped by the fact that I didn't like the main character all that much and found her selfish and annoying. I will say thought the epilogue was really well done!
January 14, 2023
Many eye rolls.
February 23, 2022
(Review originally published on my blog, July 2015)
The Blue is Lucy Clarke's third novel, following The Sea Sisters (known by the more elegant title Swimming at Night in the US) and A Single Breath. The stories are not officially connected, but might be considered a loose trilogy: they each have the tone of a thriller, but with softer edges; a big focus on secrets (usually someone lying about their past); a bit of a love story somewhere in the background; but most prominently and memorably, they demonstrate a romantic attachment to the idea of wanderlust and to an impossibly picturesque ideal of travelling, with colourful, richly described locations featuring just as significantly in the story as the characters. Even A Single Breath, which wasn't explicitly about travelling per se, involved a journey to a far-flung place and a lot of scenic description.
While The Sea Sisters was about siblings and A Single Breath about a newly married couple, in The Blue, Clarke turns her attention to a friendship. The major relationship in this story is between Lana and her best (in fact, only) friend Kitty. They have known each other since the first year of high school, where Lana was the archetypal artistic misfit and Kitty her social lifeboat - the two of them bonded over the loss of their mothers at a young age. Flashbacks to various key points in this friendship are what anchor the story and give their characters some solidity.
Lana and Kitty - the former escaping from a murkily difficult relationship with her father, the latter from a failing acting career and nascent alcoholism - pool their savings, pick a location (the Philippines) at random, and set off travelling. This is more or less where the beginning of the story finds them: Lana falls in the street, a man stops to help, and then they meet his friends, the crew of a yacht named The Blue. The two women instantly fall in love with the group's romantic, semi-nomadic way of life - everyone pays what they can towards the upkeep of the yacht, and decisions are made democratically; their days are spent travelling around virtually undiscovered islands, swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing - and, in the quick and convenient way of events in books, they move into an empty cabin. But it's not long before it becomes evident that things aren't quite as idyllic as they seem aboard The Blue. With seven people living in close quarters on a cramped ship (and relationships between them ostensibly forbidden), tempers swiftly fray and cracks appear in Lana and Kitty's new 'perfect life'.
Naturally, all of this builds up to a death, which we know about from the flash-forward prologue: it depicts a body floating in the sea as a yacht (guess which one) is steered away, 'the truth... already drifting out of reach'. (Though as the ending proves, Lana and Kitty's falling-out, one's betrayal of the other, is treated as more significant, and is the real axis on which the story turns.) The travel element is more about observing the beauty of 'exotic' places, appreciating nature and being free from the shackles of ordinary life - dull jobs and emotional baggage - than it is about immersing oneself in a different culture or actually understanding another country, making it a perfect fit for the 'beach read' genre because, despite the glamour of the characters' adventure, it's really about tourism, not engagement. (As I said in a recent blog post, I wished I could teleport myself to a deserted beach to read it). And a romance inevitably develops, but it's handled well, doesn't happen instantly and is a believable progression for the characters involved - to the point that I even found myself feeling emotionally invested in the outcome of that particular subplot...
There's a handful of genre authors I regard as masters at what they do - F.G. Cottam for ghost stories; Erin Kelly for crime; Kate Morton for her particular (often emulated) brand of part-historical fiction/buried-secrets mystery. Lucy Clarke has now crept onto this list with her blend of travelogue, thriller and relationship drama. I don't expect to get any real surprises with her books - I know they will likely always be the same kind of thing, but that doesn't make them any less enjoyable to me. Advance quotes about The Blue praise it as 'the ultimate holiday read', 'a perfect summer read', and they're exactly right - it's engrossing, the characters are interesting, the plot zips along, and its portrayal of an escape from the mundane, life at sea and island-hopping is vivid enough to serve as an armchair holiday, even if you don't have a deserted beach to accompany it.
The Blue is Lucy Clarke's third novel, following The Sea Sisters (known by the more elegant title Swimming at Night in the US) and A Single Breath. The stories are not officially connected, but might be considered a loose trilogy: they each have the tone of a thriller, but with softer edges; a big focus on secrets (usually someone lying about their past); a bit of a love story somewhere in the background; but most prominently and memorably, they demonstrate a romantic attachment to the idea of wanderlust and to an impossibly picturesque ideal of travelling, with colourful, richly described locations featuring just as significantly in the story as the characters. Even A Single Breath, which wasn't explicitly about travelling per se, involved a journey to a far-flung place and a lot of scenic description.
While The Sea Sisters was about siblings and A Single Breath about a newly married couple, in The Blue, Clarke turns her attention to a friendship. The major relationship in this story is between Lana and her best (in fact, only) friend Kitty. They have known each other since the first year of high school, where Lana was the archetypal artistic misfit and Kitty her social lifeboat - the two of them bonded over the loss of their mothers at a young age. Flashbacks to various key points in this friendship are what anchor the story and give their characters some solidity.
Lana and Kitty - the former escaping from a murkily difficult relationship with her father, the latter from a failing acting career and nascent alcoholism - pool their savings, pick a location (the Philippines) at random, and set off travelling. This is more or less where the beginning of the story finds them: Lana falls in the street, a man stops to help, and then they meet his friends, the crew of a yacht named The Blue. The two women instantly fall in love with the group's romantic, semi-nomadic way of life - everyone pays what they can towards the upkeep of the yacht, and decisions are made democratically; their days are spent travelling around virtually undiscovered islands, swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing - and, in the quick and convenient way of events in books, they move into an empty cabin. But it's not long before it becomes evident that things aren't quite as idyllic as they seem aboard The Blue. With seven people living in close quarters on a cramped ship (and relationships between them ostensibly forbidden), tempers swiftly fray and cracks appear in Lana and Kitty's new 'perfect life'.
Naturally, all of this builds up to a death, which we know about from the flash-forward prologue: it depicts a body floating in the sea as a yacht (guess which one) is steered away, 'the truth... already drifting out of reach'. (Though as the ending proves, Lana and Kitty's falling-out, one's betrayal of the other, is treated as more significant, and is the real axis on which the story turns.) The travel element is more about observing the beauty of 'exotic' places, appreciating nature and being free from the shackles of ordinary life - dull jobs and emotional baggage - than it is about immersing oneself in a different culture or actually understanding another country, making it a perfect fit for the 'beach read' genre because, despite the glamour of the characters' adventure, it's really about tourism, not engagement. (As I said in a recent blog post, I wished I could teleport myself to a deserted beach to read it). And a romance inevitably develops, but it's handled well, doesn't happen instantly and is a believable progression for the characters involved - to the point that I even found myself feeling emotionally invested in the outcome of that particular subplot...
There's a handful of genre authors I regard as masters at what they do - F.G. Cottam for ghost stories; Erin Kelly for crime; Kate Morton for her particular (often emulated) brand of part-historical fiction/buried-secrets mystery. Lucy Clarke has now crept onto this list with her blend of travelogue, thriller and relationship drama. I don't expect to get any real surprises with her books - I know they will likely always be the same kind of thing, but that doesn't make them any less enjoyable to me. Advance quotes about The Blue praise it as 'the ultimate holiday read', 'a perfect summer read', and they're exactly right - it's engrossing, the characters are interesting, the plot zips along, and its portrayal of an escape from the mundane, life at sea and island-hopping is vivid enough to serve as an armchair holiday, even if you don't have a deserted beach to accompany it.
August 4, 2015
“The Blue” was not my first introduction to Lucy Clarke. In fact, I had the pleasure of being able to read “A Single Breath” not that long ago. Both “Blue” and “Breath” clearly illustrate the author’s obvious love for the water and all things oceanic.
In “The Blue”, two young women from England, Kitty and Lana, leave their homes and their lives behind and choose to travel with a group of like-minded young adults, aboard a yacht called The Blue. While on their journey, relationships are formed, adventures are experienced and memories are made. However, when something tragic happens aboard the ship, Lana is forced to make tough decisions that may jeopardize her relationship and her status on The Blue. Years later, tragedy strikes the group again and it is up to Lana and her friends to decide whether to reveal the secrets that have been hidden for years.
Clarke has a way with words. Besides being creative and enchanting, she has a way of making her readers want more. Her books are not overly long, but each page is filled with drama and suspense, and this makes a reader relish every word to try and prolong the experience. Clarke’s characters, especially Kitty and Lana, are so very different and yet so very flawed that they were able to both evoke my sympathy and my anger, sometimes both emotions simultaneously in the short span of a few chapters. “The Blue” has the ideal setting as well; the idea of living a fantastical life on the sea, traveling from beautiful island to beautiful island, seeing sights and living with nothing but the sounds of the ocean. With this as a background, Clarke is able to draw a reader in, and then keep my interest with her tales of romance and suspense. This is the perfect “who-dunnit?” for a day at the beach or a cozy night under the covers.
In “The Blue”, two young women from England, Kitty and Lana, leave their homes and their lives behind and choose to travel with a group of like-minded young adults, aboard a yacht called The Blue. While on their journey, relationships are formed, adventures are experienced and memories are made. However, when something tragic happens aboard the ship, Lana is forced to make tough decisions that may jeopardize her relationship and her status on The Blue. Years later, tragedy strikes the group again and it is up to Lana and her friends to decide whether to reveal the secrets that have been hidden for years.
Clarke has a way with words. Besides being creative and enchanting, she has a way of making her readers want more. Her books are not overly long, but each page is filled with drama and suspense, and this makes a reader relish every word to try and prolong the experience. Clarke’s characters, especially Kitty and Lana, are so very different and yet so very flawed that they were able to both evoke my sympathy and my anger, sometimes both emotions simultaneously in the short span of a few chapters. “The Blue” has the ideal setting as well; the idea of living a fantastical life on the sea, traveling from beautiful island to beautiful island, seeing sights and living with nothing but the sounds of the ocean. With this as a background, Clarke is able to draw a reader in, and then keep my interest with her tales of romance and suspense. This is the perfect “who-dunnit?” for a day at the beach or a cozy night under the covers.
July 16, 2016
Sailing the Ocean Blue....
Damn that was good! My stomach is in knots! I've found a new favorite author and as soon as I finished this one, I bought one of her other books, Swimming at Night. I hope it's just as good!
The Blue is about two girls, Lana and Kitty, who decide to leave their old life behind. So one day they close their eyes, spin the globe and go wherever there finger lands -the Philippines. While they're at the resort, they meet a group of travelers that have also left their lives behind and are sailing around the world on a fifty-foot yacht-The Blue. After Lana and Kitty spend a night on the boat, the crew votes to bring them on board as crew members if they're interested. Of course, this is exactly the escape they were hoping for so they jump at the chance. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to end- and so does their new found paradise...
And unfortunately the book ended too! : ( which I'm hating right now because it really was that good! If I had to compare it, off-the-top of my head I would say it's 'somewhat' similar to The Woman In Cabin 10 but I think The Blue- characters, plot, everything is a thousand times better. If you enjoy nautical themed novels, then you seriously don't want to miss this one! It's a perfect summer read!
Now I'm off, in search of more similar books, in hopes of curing my huge book hangover! : )
Damn that was good! My stomach is in knots! I've found a new favorite author and as soon as I finished this one, I bought one of her other books, Swimming at Night. I hope it's just as good!
The Blue is about two girls, Lana and Kitty, who decide to leave their old life behind. So one day they close their eyes, spin the globe and go wherever there finger lands -the Philippines. While they're at the resort, they meet a group of travelers that have also left their lives behind and are sailing around the world on a fifty-foot yacht-The Blue. After Lana and Kitty spend a night on the boat, the crew votes to bring them on board as crew members if they're interested. Of course, this is exactly the escape they were hoping for so they jump at the chance. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to end- and so does their new found paradise...
And unfortunately the book ended too! : ( which I'm hating right now because it really was that good! If I had to compare it, off-the-top of my head I would say it's 'somewhat' similar to The Woman In Cabin 10 but I think The Blue- characters, plot, everything is a thousand times better. If you enjoy nautical themed novels, then you seriously don't want to miss this one! It's a perfect summer read!
Now I'm off, in search of more similar books, in hopes of curing my huge book hangover! : )
October 12, 2021
Decent story... I thought it was lacking the suspense/mystery. 3 stars
September 1, 2024
I'd assumed this was the latest from Lucy Clarke (who's previous titles I've enjoyed) though in fact it's an earlier book called The Blue and republished under a new title to coincide with the TV adaptation named No Escape.
The Blue is a beautiful 50ft yacht making it's way from the Philippines to New Zealand manned by a young crew, two best friends Kitty and Lana are excited to be invited on board.
The opening prologue opens with a bang as there's a body in the water.
There's plenty of secrets and mystery explored over the dual now and then narrative.
The details of the various islands and surrounding areas would make for a great beach read, as the plot us simplistic enough.
Satisfyingly and engaging but not this authors strongest.
The Blue is a beautiful 50ft yacht making it's way from the Philippines to New Zealand manned by a young crew, two best friends Kitty and Lana are excited to be invited on board.
The opening prologue opens with a bang as there's a body in the water.
There's plenty of secrets and mystery explored over the dual now and then narrative.
The details of the various islands and surrounding areas would make for a great beach read, as the plot us simplistic enough.
Satisfyingly and engaging but not this authors strongest.
February 27, 2019
4.5/5
Lucy Clarke ist eine fantastische Autorin. Bis auf ein paar minimale Fehler und ein kleiner Trope der mich genervt hat, war es mal wieder fantastische Unterhaltung. :)
Lucy Clarke ist eine fantastische Autorin. Bis auf ein paar minimale Fehler und ein kleiner Trope der mich genervt hat, war es mal wieder fantastische Unterhaltung. :)
June 8, 2015
Having read and hugely enjoyed Lucy's two previous novels THE SEA SISTERS and A SINGLE BREATH, I was very excited to start her new one, THE BLUE. I wasn't disappointed. Once again she has created a thrilling page turner about love, friendship and loyalty with a compelling mystery woven into its heart. As with her other books THE BLUE is set abroad, this time in New Zealand in the present day and on a yacht, just off the coast of the Phillipines in the thread set some months earlier. Lucy is excellent at scene setting, her rich prose conjuring up the sights, smells and sensations of foreign lands and I felt as though as though I was walking alongside Lana and Kitty as they partied in the Philippines and swimming alongside them as they explored the islands and coves they visited in THE BLUE, the yacht they hitched a ride on with a group of strangers. I love not knowing who you can trust in a novel and I mistrusted each and every one of Lana and Kitty's shipmates as I frantically turned the pages, desperate to uncover their secrets. THE BLUE is a beautifully written, compelling mystery that you won't want to put down. Make sure you top up on suntan lotion if you read it by the pool or on the beach because you won't want to move a muscle until you reach The End.
May 18, 2017
Found this slower in some spots than others but all is revealed at the end with a few surprises. Will definitely read more by this author. A good escapist read and perfect for the summer. 3.5.
January 12, 2021
Die Grundidee mit dem spannenden Setting auf einer Segelyacht fand ich klasse. Ich mag es, wenn eine Gruppe von unterschiedlichen Charakteren mit ihren ganz eigenen Geheimnissen auf engem Raum miteinander konfrontiert werden. Dies ist einfach ein perfekter Nährboden für Konflikte und psychologische Spielchen jeglicher Art.
Einerseits hat es mir gefallen, dass die Geschichte auf zwei Zeitsträngen ("heute" und "damals") erzählt wird, weil so eben vieles lange unklar bleibt, obwohl man weiß, dass etwas passiert ist. Aber anderseits glaube ich, dass es der Spannung und dem Erzähltempo nicht gut getan und somit beide ein bisschen ausgebremst wurden.
Auch die Auflösung enthielt mindestens einen Aspekt, der mich gestört hat und der, meiner Meinung nach, auch gar nicht nötig gewesen wäre (die Freundschaft von Kitty und Lana betreffend).
Zusammenfassend hat mich die Geschichte zwar unterhalten, war aber schlussendlich doch zu lahm und konnte mich nicht überzeugen. Kann man lesen/hören, muss man aber nicht. Schade.
Einerseits hat es mir gefallen, dass die Geschichte auf zwei Zeitsträngen ("heute" und "damals") erzählt wird, weil so eben vieles lange unklar bleibt, obwohl man weiß, dass etwas passiert ist. Aber anderseits glaube ich, dass es der Spannung und dem Erzähltempo nicht gut getan und somit beide ein bisschen ausgebremst wurden.
Auch die Auflösung enthielt mindestens einen Aspekt, der mich gestört hat und der, meiner Meinung nach, auch gar nicht nötig gewesen wäre (die Freundschaft von Kitty und Lana betreffend).
Zusammenfassend hat mich die Geschichte zwar unterhalten, war aber schlussendlich doch zu lahm und konnte mich nicht überzeugen. Kann man lesen/hören, muss man aber nicht. Schade.
December 15, 2024
2.5 initially this book was really interesting and as I’m a big fan of Lucy Clarke I expected this to continue however I found it really repetitive . However it must be noted this is won of her first novels and Lucy has certainly become a very good writer
August 9, 2020
Nachdem ich erst letztens auf die Autorin aufmerksam geworden bin und mich eines ihrer Bücher positiv überrascht hat, wollte ich es gleich mit einem weiteren Hörbuch der Autorin versuchen, das mich dieses Mal aber enttäuscht zurückgelassen hat. Die Story wird wieder in zwei Zeitsträngen erzählt (Jetzt vs. Vergangenheit) und handelt von einigen jungen Erwachsenen, die mit der Jacht "Blue" im pazifischen Ozean unterwegs sind. Mir waren es insgesamt zu viele verschiedene Charaktere, bei denen mir jegliche Tiefe gefehlt hat. Dadurch konnte ich so gar keine Bindung zu den einzelnen Charakteren aufbauen - vielmehr noch: fast alle Protagonisten waren mir durchweg unsympathisch. Irgendwann gibt es ein Ereignis auf der Blue, das ein Todesopfer fordert und von der Crew verheimlicht wird, um keinen bürokratischen Ärger zu kriegen. Die Story kriegt zwar dadurch etwas Spannung, aber hat bei mir meine Abneigung gegen die ohnehin schon unsympathischen Charaktere nur noch verstärkt. Die Autorin versucht die beiden Zeitstränge allmählich miteinander zu verbinden, so dass man als Leser*in schlussendlich erfährt, was sich genau auf der Blue zugetragen hat. Dazu werden einige Geheimnisse aus der Vergangenheit einzelner Protagonisten enthüllt, die bei den Lesern vermutlich zu mehr Verständnis für die Entscheidung der Crewmitglieder hätte führen sollen. Bei mir war das leider gar nicht der Fall, denn selbst schwierige Erlebnisse in der Vergangenheit haben für mich in keinster Weise gerechtfertigt, dass die Crew den Tod eines Crewmitglieder vertuschen wollte. Mich hat der Plot und die einzelnen Charaktere also bloss wütend gemacht und fesselnd war die Geschichte leider gar nicht. Deshalb gibt's von mir dieses Mal bloss 2 enttäuschte Sterne.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2021
Thought I might like this based on the cover and the blurb, but I did not expect to like it this much it is like the perfect summer thriller.
Read
December 20, 2025Listened. Scarlett Mack was a pretty great narrator. I particularly loved the way she nailed the French accents. I could almost smell the cigarette smoke.
Regardless of the fact that this story contained a multitude of redundant scenes, I really liked this book, especially the settings and colorful descriptions. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Clarke's books, mostly due to the spirit that permeates them. Her characters are always on some sort of travel adventure and I love tagging along, whether on a hike in Norway or a yacht trip in the southern hemisphere. The people in her books seem to always travel in groups--sometimes they all know one another; others are strangers who meet along the way. [I'm only two books in so I might be wrong about this formula.]
As a life-long traveler, I could relate to the stories I've read so far--I get that sense of freedom and frisson that comes when you're exploring new exotic locales. I get it. But these are not travel books, no no no. Not when there are murders, missing persons or dark turns along the trails. That's what makes them so fun!
Regardless of the fact that this story contained a multitude of redundant scenes, I really liked this book, especially the settings and colorful descriptions. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Clarke's books, mostly due to the spirit that permeates them. Her characters are always on some sort of travel adventure and I love tagging along, whether on a hike in Norway or a yacht trip in the southern hemisphere. The people in her books seem to always travel in groups--sometimes they all know one another; others are strangers who meet along the way. [I'm only two books in so I might be wrong about this formula.]
As a life-long traveler, I could relate to the stories I've read so far--I get that sense of freedom and frisson that comes when you're exploring new exotic locales. I get it. But these are not travel books, no no no. Not when there are murders, missing persons or dark turns along the trails. That's what makes them so fun!
August 18, 2025
Simply epic! I feel like I just sailed from the Philippines to Palau with my closest friends and I'm going to miss them so much. I just finished this in a pharmacy waiting room and I'm an emotional wreck, lol!
November 8, 2015
I am having a hard time deciding what to say and how to rate this book. I had a difficult time reading it and yet the story itself had so much potential. The ending was good, but it was a long time getting there. This one is between a 2 and a 3 star read, and I gave it two because for so much of the book I really wasn't enjoying reading it.
What I liked:
1. The setting of the story had the potential to draw one in. The feeling of sailing the ocean, the freedom from the normal grind of life, the pull of the deep blue sea. The perfect setting for an adventurous life and the tragedy that occurred on a boat called The Blue.
2. An interesting group of people each with their own reason to walk away from where they were and sail on The Blue. The relationships that develop between the crew was interesting.
3. The mystery of what happened on board The Blue and the secrets that everyone kept. (Although the secrets also became a negative as I found them an impediment to character development.) The relationships and demeanor of the crew change from lighthearted and fun to one with a darker, more secretive and sinister undercurrent.
4. A 4 Star review by Sue gives a really good overview of the story and provides the reasons why you should read the book. See the review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
What didn't work for me:
1. This is written from the perspective of Lana which limits the story and skews what you see as it based on what she sees.
2. A large portion of the story is written in present tense and saying I'm not a fan a present tense is an understatement. There is a reason the experts say to stick to past tense. For me the large section written in present tense was an obstacle to get over. In addition, different parts of the story are written in past tense so as you read you jump tenses depending on time frames. It creates a very choppy read and an even bigger reading obstacle. I almost quit reading a number of times simply on this alone.
3. In addition to changes in tense, the story jumps between "Then" and "Now". "Then" is Lana's time on The Blue. Now is her time after leaving The Blue and hearing that the boat sunk and it's crew is lost at sea with Search and Rescue looking for them. She also has memories of her time before sailing on "The Blue" and why she is estranged from her father. For me the entire book was very choppy and I had a difficult time sticking with it and found myself skipping over some sections.
4. As this was written from Lana's perspective most of the characters aren't developed and fleshed out as well as I would have liked. I understand why the author chose to reveal her story this way; it just didn't really work for me.
5. The characters weren't very likable and that includes Lana. It was hard to be vested in them. You only got brief interactions with the other crew members and generally not in a positive way. It made it hard to care about what happened to them.
6. The story was very slow to reveal itself and although the ending was good I'm not sure it was worth the effort.
Conclusion: At the end of the day, should the book be an interesting plot or should it be an enjoyable read? I think it should be both and for me although the plot was interesting and at points really sucked me in, I didn't find the characters likable or the writing enjoyable.
What I liked:
1. The setting of the story had the potential to draw one in. The feeling of sailing the ocean, the freedom from the normal grind of life, the pull of the deep blue sea. The perfect setting for an adventurous life and the tragedy that occurred on a boat called The Blue.
2. An interesting group of people each with their own reason to walk away from where they were and sail on The Blue. The relationships that develop between the crew was interesting.
3. The mystery of what happened on board The Blue and the secrets that everyone kept. (Although the secrets also became a negative as I found them an impediment to character development.) The relationships and demeanor of the crew change from lighthearted and fun to one with a darker, more secretive and sinister undercurrent.
4. A 4 Star review by Sue gives a really good overview of the story and provides the reasons why you should read the book. See the review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
What didn't work for me:
1. This is written from the perspective of Lana which limits the story and skews what you see as it based on what she sees.
2. A large portion of the story is written in present tense and saying I'm not a fan a present tense is an understatement. There is a reason the experts say to stick to past tense. For me the large section written in present tense was an obstacle to get over. In addition, different parts of the story are written in past tense so as you read you jump tenses depending on time frames. It creates a very choppy read and an even bigger reading obstacle. I almost quit reading a number of times simply on this alone.
3. In addition to changes in tense, the story jumps between "Then" and "Now". "Then" is Lana's time on The Blue. Now is her time after leaving The Blue and hearing that the boat sunk and it's crew is lost at sea with Search and Rescue looking for them. She also has memories of her time before sailing on "The Blue" and why she is estranged from her father. For me the entire book was very choppy and I had a difficult time sticking with it and found myself skipping over some sections.
4. As this was written from Lana's perspective most of the characters aren't developed and fleshed out as well as I would have liked. I understand why the author chose to reveal her story this way; it just didn't really work for me.
5. The characters weren't very likable and that includes Lana. It was hard to be vested in them. You only got brief interactions with the other crew members and generally not in a positive way. It made it hard to care about what happened to them.
6. The story was very slow to reveal itself and although the ending was good I'm not sure it was worth the effort.
Conclusion: At the end of the day, should the book be an interesting plot or should it be an enjoyable read? I think it should be both and for me although the plot was interesting and at points really sucked me in, I didn't find the characters likable or the writing enjoyable.
June 30, 2015
This book had so many twists that I couldn't put it down. Every time I was going to stop reading for the night something huge would happen and I would NEED to keep reading! The very last twist had my jaw hitting the floor. I couldn't believe what I had just read! I was absolutely stunned!
This was a perfect read for the summer with all the descriptions of tropical paradises and life on the yacht. It was so idyllic that I completely understand why the crew were so desperate to keep their amazing lifestyle. I would love have been on The Blue too! The dual timelines were really effective at drawing me into the mysteries and let me become quite attached to some of the crew. Knowing that something awful was coming just ratcheted up the tension as I feared for my favorite characters. Right until the very end it wasn't clear what had happened and who would survive. I finished this book and my first thought was to immediately pass it on to my best friend. You know a book is good when you need to share it right away! I'm going to hunt down all Lucy Clarke's previous novels.
I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads program. Thank you!
This was a perfect read for the summer with all the descriptions of tropical paradises and life on the yacht. It was so idyllic that I completely understand why the crew were so desperate to keep their amazing lifestyle. I would love have been on The Blue too! The dual timelines were really effective at drawing me into the mysteries and let me become quite attached to some of the crew. Knowing that something awful was coming just ratcheted up the tension as I feared for my favorite characters. Right until the very end it wasn't clear what had happened and who would survive. I finished this book and my first thought was to immediately pass it on to my best friend. You know a book is good when you need to share it right away! I'm going to hunt down all Lucy Clarke's previous novels.
I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads program. Thank you!
July 18, 2016
Best friends Lana and Kitty leave their homes and begin travel to the Philippines. While in the Philippines, the have some extraordinary luck. Lana and Kitty befriend the young crew of a yacht named The Blue. For a small fee each month and an agreement to follow certain rules, they join the crew to wander the world. I was pulled into this book immediately. I could feel tension and suspense from the beginning. Things begin to happen on board The Blue, and it seems as though everyone on board has secrets. A riveting read!
June 9, 2021
Typisch Lucy Clarke! Ein süchtig machender Roman voller Thrillerlemente. Sie weiß einfach, wie man den Leser an exotische Strände entführt und dabei so fesselt, dass dieser das Buch partout nicht mehr aus der Hand legen kann. In diesem Buch sind wir mit zwei besten Freundinnen am Deck der „Blue“ einem Segelboot, das mit einer ganz besonderen Crew von Fiji nach Neuseeland segelt. Das Setting ist unglaublich, die Charaktere super spezielle gezeichnet und der Schreibstil wie immer grandios!
July 3, 2023
Getting through the backlist books, this one was just ok for me.
July 26, 2015
A spellbinding novel of the vastness of the ocean, a sailing expedition of a seven member crew on a 50 ft. yacht "The Blue" authored by Lucy Clarke.
On an extended holiday from England, Lana and her lifelong best friend Kitty were enjoying the tropics in the Philippines. Lana, upset with her father, was facing profound disappointment. Kitty's acting career never reached the success she had hoped for. Both women were looking for adventure as they attempted to avoid their troubles. Intrigued and impressed when they became acquainted with the crew of The Blue and visited the yacht, Lana and Kitty eagerly accepted the offer to join the fun loving crew. The voyage beginning in the Philippines would end in New Zealand, and take as long as 8 months, depending on the weather and daily covered nautical miles.
The wise experienced Skipper of The Blue, Aaron was a thoughtful and reserved man. Although all decisions were voted on by the crew, Aaron expected to maintain a reasonable order, his authority was followed without question. Relationships among crew members were forbidden to avoid strife and confusion. Lana and Denny attempted to honor all the rules and hid the desire and chemistry between them. When Lana and Denny went snorkeling before setting sail, someone was following and watching them. This was unnerving, Denny did not want to reveal his attraction of Lana to Aaron, as Lana wondered who was following them and why, she discussed the strange situation with Kitty.
It was necessary to sail before March 15th, Lana attempted to understand why so much seemingly important information wasn't shared openly among the crew. After the expedition began, the yacht was constantly monitored, crewmembers participating in a 24 hour rotating watch. After a week at sea, the crew had been drinking (spiked drinks) late into the night. The crew discovered a missing member the next day, no one knew what happened to him or why.
While it was true the missing man was on the yacht under shady circumstances he didn't deserve to go overboard (March 15th). Was this a possible suicide? The man was obviously troubled. Aaron had a prior volatile disagreement with him, there was some blood on the deck, yet no one witnessed what happened.. or, if they did, weren't saying. The grueling spotlight search through the water was unsuccessful, as Lana discovered clues in the missing man's notebooks. Lana also began to feel fear when Aaron suggested the yacht would be impounded for an unknown amount of time if the situation was investigated, their expedition would end. The crew was in shock and distraught over the tragedy, yet the majority voted not to report the incident to port authorities.
The story is narrated by Lana alternating between "then" and "now" as she recalled both past and current events that occurred before and after The Blue reportedly sank. Each crewmember understandably had their own private life stories, and some were more reluctant to share details then others. The Blue allowed crew members to escape the more unpleasant and mundane realities of life on land, in Lana's case she sought temporary escape from paternal betrayal. The sailing adventure connected these seven individuals in unforgettable intrigue, mystery that explored how fast and instant are changes from the human condition combined with the natural elements that forever impact a person's life.
Lucy Clarke is an acclaimed international novelist, previous novels include A Single Breath (2014), and The Sea Sisters (2013). Clarke lives in the UK. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for this value priced e-novel for the purpose of review.
On an extended holiday from England, Lana and her lifelong best friend Kitty were enjoying the tropics in the Philippines. Lana, upset with her father, was facing profound disappointment. Kitty's acting career never reached the success she had hoped for. Both women were looking for adventure as they attempted to avoid their troubles. Intrigued and impressed when they became acquainted with the crew of The Blue and visited the yacht, Lana and Kitty eagerly accepted the offer to join the fun loving crew. The voyage beginning in the Philippines would end in New Zealand, and take as long as 8 months, depending on the weather and daily covered nautical miles.
The wise experienced Skipper of The Blue, Aaron was a thoughtful and reserved man. Although all decisions were voted on by the crew, Aaron expected to maintain a reasonable order, his authority was followed without question. Relationships among crew members were forbidden to avoid strife and confusion. Lana and Denny attempted to honor all the rules and hid the desire and chemistry between them. When Lana and Denny went snorkeling before setting sail, someone was following and watching them. This was unnerving, Denny did not want to reveal his attraction of Lana to Aaron, as Lana wondered who was following them and why, she discussed the strange situation with Kitty.
It was necessary to sail before March 15th, Lana attempted to understand why so much seemingly important information wasn't shared openly among the crew. After the expedition began, the yacht was constantly monitored, crewmembers participating in a 24 hour rotating watch. After a week at sea, the crew had been drinking (spiked drinks) late into the night. The crew discovered a missing member the next day, no one knew what happened to him or why.
While it was true the missing man was on the yacht under shady circumstances he didn't deserve to go overboard (March 15th). Was this a possible suicide? The man was obviously troubled. Aaron had a prior volatile disagreement with him, there was some blood on the deck, yet no one witnessed what happened.. or, if they did, weren't saying. The grueling spotlight search through the water was unsuccessful, as Lana discovered clues in the missing man's notebooks. Lana also began to feel fear when Aaron suggested the yacht would be impounded for an unknown amount of time if the situation was investigated, their expedition would end. The crew was in shock and distraught over the tragedy, yet the majority voted not to report the incident to port authorities.
The story is narrated by Lana alternating between "then" and "now" as she recalled both past and current events that occurred before and after The Blue reportedly sank. Each crewmember understandably had their own private life stories, and some were more reluctant to share details then others. The Blue allowed crew members to escape the more unpleasant and mundane realities of life on land, in Lana's case she sought temporary escape from paternal betrayal. The sailing adventure connected these seven individuals in unforgettable intrigue, mystery that explored how fast and instant are changes from the human condition combined with the natural elements that forever impact a person's life.
Lucy Clarke is an acclaimed international novelist, previous novels include A Single Breath (2014), and The Sea Sisters (2013). Clarke lives in the UK. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for this value priced e-novel for the purpose of review.
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