💭 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.

A most engaging read with interesting characters, a mystery and roller coaster action in a challenging environment. Sarah is an ex Royal Marine with PTSD. She reluctantly takes on a job as a Security Officer on a super yacht to ensure the safe transit of a valuable cargo of artifacts for the owner from the Med to the Caribbean. After loading with undue haste, the yacht sets off with a skeleton crew, the owner’s agent and the owner’s niece in a rush for a quick voyage. There seems little to concern the security officer except as she gets to learn about the layout of the yacht and to assess the people on board who turn out to be quite an enigmatic mix of characters and relationships. It turns out to be an ill-fated voyage as things mysteriously breakdown with a loss of essential systems and supplies all blamed on the rushed departure. Tensions mount when thr captain refuses to break the voyage to make good, driving on at full speed into the eye of a storm. The Security Officer struggling with her PTSD blackouts and reoccurring nightmares, senses danger and has to be on full alert, then the Captain disappears, followed by the chief engineer. Isolated in mid Atlantic she has to figure out what plot is being played and who is behind it, who to trust. When she realised that the ship and its cargo must be the reason, she has to play for high stakes and doing so overcomes her PISD nightmares at the expense of barely surviving physically intact to win through.

The story is set on a super yacht with envy-inducing descriptions of a lavish life style. Sarah, ex military, is the security on board for the crossing, with an unexpected guest. I couldn’t really empathise with the main character, so only 4 stars. Many people will probably enjoy the style of writing.

A solid read, which was a bit plodding and slow, but ramped up considerably towards the end. Nothing memorable, but an entertaining and undemanding holiday read.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

An action-packed locked-room thriller, A Stranger On Board will have you gripped from the moment this luxury yacht leaves the dock, and keep your intrigue running with every suspenseful turn.

Although I expected this one to feel quite cliche or at least feel very similar to other books in its genre, I have to say that I actually found this to be a very original and refreshing thriller by the end.

A large reason for that is the lead character, Sarah French, who is very strong but also very approachable. The action is really well written, too, successfully building the tension throughout and constantly bouncing your suspicion around the deck.

The murders could have been more impactful, for me, as they mainly happen behind closed doors, so everything feels very stealthy rather than vengeful. But I ended up quite liking the 90s-action feel to it, and I could definitely see this being made into a film.

If you love a thriller based on a luxury holiday gone wrong, then you'll definitely want to pick up A Stranger On Board this summer!

Well, this is certainly a roller coaster of a read. I could not put it down. When former Royal Marine Sarah is employed to protect a luxury super yacht it is assumed she is just there for an easy ride. With only a skeleton crew, when things onboard start to go wrong and sabotage is suspected then Sarah doesn’t know who to trust.