Another new author for me & I was really looking forward to this locked room thriller set onboard super yacht Escape. Sailing from Majorca to Antigua there is a huge cast of characters, which makes killer spotting that much more difficult.

Sarah, an ex Royal Marine, is hired as security for the trip. She is soon called in to action when the captain disappears during a violent Atlantic storm. She has to overcome her PTSD in order to investigate & prevent further losses.

This is a good read & I would suggest ideal for holidays, but not if you’re on a boat. I would read this author again.

I got Stranger on board by Cameron Ward for free from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Stranger on board is a thriller about a luxury superyacht being sailed across the Atlantic ocean for dilevery.

Apart from a ragtag crew from around the world, there is the niece of the owner Harriat, Jason the owner's representative.

There is Sarah French as security who is only there for insurance purposes, who left the British Royal Marine because of PTSD.

Stranger on board is basically a locked room mystery thriller, with plenty of twists and turns throughout the novel to keep the reader gripped.

With the novel only told through Sarah’s experience this allows Cameron Ward the writer to keep feeding information to us as readers about what is really happening all through the story.

While I really liked the mystery side of this novel, for me the thriller was the point that the novel failed at, as the action scenes did not draw me in as much as the mystery part of the novel did.

The reason for this was for me was that they just did not have the excitement that I want to get out of the thriller part of the novel.

Having said that the action part of the novel is only about 5%-10% of the novel as the mystery which to me is the best part of the novel, makes A Stranger on Board by Cameron Ward Well worth reading.

Sarah French, ex Royal Marine, is employed as the security officer on a Superyacht transfer. A few days in luxury – until it all goes horribly wrong. The cushy berth, intended, in part, to get her over her traumatic flashbacks to a mission where a colleague died, involves nothing risky. The skeleton crew, nine staff, plus the yacht owner’s representative, are not in trouble or danger, so this is basically an eight day holiday in the height of luxury. At the last minute the owner’s ‘niece’ joins them, then it turns out that the boat contains a large number of expensive art works. Still, it’s a ‘swan’, an easy trip. The reason for the transfer is a refit, so there are some systems that don’t work properly, not a security issue, even when some start to fail. But the Captain want to go as fast as possible to their destination, Antigua, three and a half thousand miles away, and there’s a storm in the way. So luxury bit has rather faded but still there’s no security issue. And then people start to disappear.
Let’s start by saying the writing is good and the characters are quite well drawn. On the face of it this is a thriller, although it spends a lot of time establishing the chaos building on the boat while Sarah doesn’t clock the sabotage possibility. However, we don’t need to spend time wondering because the opening section gives us a leap forward of eight days, so we know where we’re going to be, and what we have to do is work out who the bad guys are. This is not hard. The closing section is where we actually get to the thriller bit; a standard, vaguely plausible format. I was disappointed with this book, starting with the title, which misleads or misdirects (acting more like part of the plot than a descriptive term). The central part is a bit loose, there isn’t much tension, the final wrap is a bit long. If Sarah returns in a sequel, and the character has potential, I hope the structural issues mentioned here, are better controlled. I’m giving 2.5 stars, which rounds to 3 (which is an over valuation but 2 would be cruel).
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I was really on the French about this book it started off looking great and I was really excited to get stuck in. There were bits in this books that I really loved and at times I found it really exciting then there were other times where I felt slightly lost and I didn’t feel the book was going anywhere.

I didn’t love this book but at the same time i didn’t dislike it either. It was a good book with the potential to be a great one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review.

Right from the beginning, we know this will not turn out well. Eight days into the trip to deliver the superyacht Escape to Antigua, all 300 tonnes and six decks will be floundering without power in the Atlantic. Those of the crew who are left will be cowering in fear a fellow crew member tries to pick them off, one by one. Some are already dead. They are three days from shore and there is no way of making contact. But let's go back to when all this started, in Southampton.

Sarah French was sold the idea of being the security officer on the Escape as a form of therapy. It would help her recover from the trauma which led to her leaving the marines. She just needs to fly out to Majorca where the yacht has been refurbished and sail to Antigua where the owner wants the final fittings to be done. Easy, peasy. There will be a skeleton crew and no stops on the way. The skipper's Greg Mayer and he's experienced when it comes to superyachts. Karis is the first mate and Jack Foster is the chief engineer. It's pretty obvious to Sarah that alcoholism has come hot on the heels of his wife's death. The remainder of the crew seems reasonably friendly and competent. Less welcome to the crew is the presence of the company VP, Jason Chen and then the arrival of the owner's daughter, Harriet De Witt Fendley who has a penchant for long showers and likes to be waited on.

It's not long before things start to go wrong. The freshwater tanks have been draining into the bilges and water is going to have to be strictly rationed. There's a fire. No one's hurt but how it started in a mystery. Things go missing or don't work. The lightning strike was obviously an act of God - but what about everything else? Sarah's worried that there's something going on that she doesn't know about - and that there's a lack of respect amongst the crew - particularly for Greg. And then the disappearances start.

Oh, but this is a cracker of a story! I felt as though I was on the Escape - the luxury seemed extreme to begin with but a fragility emerged as things started to go wrong. The Captain obviously had his own reasons for ploughing ahead at a ridiculous speed - even when it meant going through a vicious storm when Escape seemed to be in no state to cope with it. Even the first mate, with whom he's in a relationship can't entirely understand why he's so determined.

The characters are great too. We gradually get the story of the trauma which has affected Sarah French so badly and why panic attacks can be triggered so easily. I really rooted for her and she's stayed in my mind after I turned the final page. The crew work well as a group: you can imagine them together on a yacht. They each have a lack of roots and you sense that relationships are generally fleeting.

Did I work out who was behind what was happening? Not only did I not guess - I gave up even attempting to second-guess the ending, which was very satisfying. I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I love the marine aspect of this story. It adds so much thrill when it is happening in a confined space with nowhere to go. It has major NCIS vibes to it. Although I did see most of the twists coming I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery/thriller set at sea, but do not read it when you’re going on a cruise soon. Loved the main character Sarah and how her Marine trauma waved through the story. It made her so vulnerable and real. A very addictive and quick read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Addictive reads
Marine stories
Short chapters
Strong female lead
NCIS

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘹-𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘹𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯-𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 - 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.

𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴.

𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦...

Not my usual type of book but thought I would give it a go.
I found the start interesting but then it got a bit slow. There is only so much to write about out at sea!
The story is about Sarah an ex Royal Marine who joins an executive yacht as security officer.
Someone on board has a hidden agenda,who and what?
The story got quite exciting towards the end and I didn't skip any bits.
It reminded me of a Steven Seagal film in book format,not the best book I have ever read but it hasn't put me off trying another thriller.

A Stranger On Board started as a slow burn but after a couple of chapters the pace picked up. A good enjoyable tense thriller. Great characters, good premise and setting. The perfect summer read, easy and enjoyable with the bonus of it being on a yacht.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest opinion

A tense thriller set in a restricted environment. The author delivers a fast paced and tense story that kept me on the edge.
Solid plot, well developed character, good storytelling.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

An ex-Royal Marine is employed as a security guard on a luxury cruise liner as it crosses the Atlantic. It’s not long before she questions what her purpose is and the motives of those on board. Who is being honest and who is a criminal? As the body count increases she must act fast to prevent a disaster at sea.
A very slow start but a promising idea for a plot. Unfortunately the all important hook was missing. An isolated location is almost always a winner for a setting and there was a diverse group of characters but the plot got lost behind some tiresome detail which left me floundering in apathy.
The ending was just too unbelievable for my liking. How bad was their aim is all I’m asking? The author may have wanted to tie up all the loose ends but the epilogue needs some serious chopping.
Overall The Stranger on Board was not for me. Great idea that just missed the boat.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The start of the book gives a small glimpse of what is to come later and then goes to the real start of the story. Sarah, an ex-marine, has gone to see one of her ex-forces friends, Mitch, who offers her a job as security on a super luxurious yacht that is sailing from the Balearic Islands to the Caribbean. She is told it's for insurance purposes. it will give her time to get her head together so she accepts and looks forward to a couple of weeks relaxing.. She flies to Palma and joins the rest of the crew and they are underway much sooner than planned.
The captain is going quite fast and it becomes clear that he has some kind of ulterior motive for this. Aside from the small crew on board, there is a representative for the owner and the owner's niece, who was a last minute guest.
Various things are found to be not working as the yacht has recently undergone a refurbishment and things will be finished off in Antigua. However, when there is a fire, it is realised that the fire suppression system is not working and then other serious problems arise.. The Captain takes them on a straight line which means that they go straight through a storm with shattering consequences. The people go missing. It is up to Sarah to find out what is happening and who she can trust.
But one of the reasons she took the job is because she took a discharge from the Marines due to PTSD and has crippling panic attacks. The big question is can she cope?
I couldn't put this down, it is really enjoyable.

Strangely enough, this is the second thriller I have read this summer set upon a luxury yacht, the other being, ‘Dead Rich’ by G.W. Shaw. This is an excellent setting, especially for a holiday, beach read.

‘A Stranger on Board,’ has Sarah French as the main character, an ex-Royal Marine, who has suffered a traumatic experience and left the service. A friend of hers gives her a job, acting as Security on board the superyacht, ‘Escape.’ It is being moved, with a skeleton crew, from Majorca to Antigua. Time to get her head straight and perhaps catch the sun? Of course, nothing is that simple.

From the first, things begin to go wrong. There is an unexpected guest, who insists on travelling with them. The yacht has teething troubles, with systems on the blink. There are problems with the engines, oh, and there’s a storm brewing and not just out in the ocean, but also on board. This is pure escapism, but good fun, with interesting characters and a lot of excitement. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

A really good read. The beginning got me hooked, then it slowed down a bit for the middle, but my goodness did it speed up towards the end. I liked the main character and honestly had no idea who to trust throughout this book. It would make a fantastic action film.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This book is definitely a slow burn and at times I felt like giving up. However, it did pick up and was an enjoyable read.

Running away to sea by a royal marine. Not what you expect, especially when suffering from ptsd and takes a job to deliver a private super yacht to the carribean.
The crew have worked together previously but rivals and friends change during the trip.
A fast paced book that will keep you gripped.
I am hoping this is the start of a series of books.

A riveting twist on the locked room mystery. A super yacht is the setting for this fast paced clever thriller. Nothing is quite as it seems and it is written so well.

Huge fan of this book.

Tense thriller on a luxury yacht. Great characters that you love and hate in equal measure. Would read more by this author.

A Stranger on Board follows ex-Marine, Sarah, as she embarks on her first journey away from home following her traumatic and premature departure from the Royal Marines. Sarah is yet to face her demons surrounding her service, how it ended and her obvious PTSD, so when her friend, also a former soldier, offers her a job on a superyacht as a security liaison, they both assume it will be the perfect trip for her to get some downtime and deal with her emotions.

There is more to this story than you first think. It is a very slow burner with a lot of parts that filled the book out that were not necessarily needed. However, the content discussed a lot of relevant topics that the author dealt with sensitively and I did find myself hooked.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I really enjoyed this book. Sarah French is a former marine who is struggling to come to terms with a tragic event that ended her career. She gladly accepts a job as security to a crew sailing a luxury super yacht from Spain to Antigua. However, it soon becomes apparent that tensions exist amongst the crew, and when one member goes missing, believed drowned, Sarah realises that they have a killer on board. Add in a massive storm, and you've got a real roller coaster of a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the end! Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah 3 months out of the Royal Marines gets a job through her friend and ex colleague Mitch on board a super yacht acting as security whilst the yacht goes from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, the yacht just has a Skeleton crew as it’s got no VIP passengers onboard , so it should be the easiest job in the world for Sarah.

Tensions started to fray almost immediately after they set sail, I loved finding out about all the workings of the yacht and the crew and all the gossip between them all but who would have predicted all the catastrophes that happen on this voyage? I didn’t that’s for sure!

Sarah is one hell of a women , I was on the edge of my seat reading this it had so much action it could be a Hollywood blockbuster!. I really hope we get second book, it deserves one.