Dead Below Deck

By: Jan Gangsei

Narrated by: Emma Love

When an heiress disappears from her superyacht and security footage shows her getting pushed, the main suspect has to prove her innocence in this thrilling mystery at sea told in reverse chronological order, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Genuine Fraud.

It was supposed to be the best-ever girls’ trip: five days, four friends, one luxury yacht, no parents. But on the final night, as the yacht cruised the deep and dark waters between Florida and Grand Cayman, eighteen-year-old heiress Giselle vanished. She’s nowhere to be found the next morning even after a frantic search, until security footage surfaces . . . showing Maggie pushing her overboard.

But Maggie has no memory of what happened. All she knows is that she woke up with a throbbing headache, thousands of dollars in cash in her safe, a passport that isn’t hers, and Giselle’s diary. And while Maggie had her own reasons to want Giselle dead, so did everyone else on board: jealous Viv, calculating Emi, even some members of the staff.

What really went down on the top deck that night? Maggie will have to work her way backward to uncover the secrets that everyone—even Giselle—kept below deck or she’s dead in the water.

Jan Gangsei crafts a compulsively readable tale of privilege, family, and identity wrapped in a wholly original mystery that will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the final twist.

Excellent

Every once in a while, I come across a thriller that keeps me on the edge of my seat, with enough *feels* to have me rooting for a character who may just be the culprit. Eileen Cook’s WITH MALICE and Abigail Haas’s DANGEROUS GIRLS are two books I can reread multiple times and always have the same feeling. DEAD BELOW DECK just might join that exclusive club.

DEAD BELOW DECK, which is told from end to beginning might not be for everyone, but for me Jan Gansei got it right with the book’s layout.

Told from the points of view of missing heiress Giselle and her classmate, scholarship student Maggie’s narrative, readers learn about the lives of the very different teenagers. I wasn’t certain as to the reliability of these young women’s accounts, or whether I could trust them.

I figured out a few of the twists, but not the biggest ones. I can’t wait to reread DEAD BELOW DECK.