The concept sounded good, but the plot’s unfolding and the writing quality left a lot to be desired. That said, I did finish the novel.

When Art Marvik (National Intelligence Marine Squad) receives a phone call from Helen Shannon telling him she needs him right away, he feels that there could be severe repercussions.

Helen had been working for Ian Bradshaw and had found herself backed into a situation on his boat. As she was getting off the boat, which was moored in the marina, having rejected his advances – costing her job – she had overheard two men on another boat talking about a target being ‘taken out’. Feeling vulnerable she had called Art for help.

The situation worsens, with Bradshaw having his throat cut and a friend of Helen’s, Gavin Yardley, disappearing and Art and his friend Shaun Strathen are hard pushed to unravel the mystery.

What appears to be at the heart of the matter, the disappearance of a salvage vessel in the North Atlantic in 2003 takes on a sinister dimension.

The plot is skilfully handled with more than a few twists and turns and the characters are well fleshed-out. However, for me, there are too many questions asked and too many possible scenarios suggested. In addition, I feel that there is too much ‘looking back’ at what has happened previously in Marvik’s life. Such that this is difficult to read as a ‘stand-alone’.

Sméagol

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to read

I received a free copy via netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

This was the first book in this series that I have read.
I did find it confusing at times with the amount of names which could be due to the above.
All in all though this was a good mystery.

I would like to thank Netgallery and Severn House for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the third book in Pauline Rowson’s series about former Royal Marine Commando Art Marvik, who now works for the secretive National Intelligence Marine Unit. Marvik is shaken from his late night reflections on his boat by a phone call from Helen Shannon, a difficult woman who he had helped on his first mission for the National Intelligence Marine Unit. He agrees to urgently meet her and soon finds himself helping her flee from a murder scene. Art is sure of her innocence and hides her out with his colleague, another former Commando Shaun Strathen, while he investigates the murder and its links to the disappearance of a salvage vessel, the Mary Jo, with all hands in 2003. Marvik quickly becomes caught up in a series of murders and a nasty conspiracy that is somehow linked to the Mary Jo.

After a slow start, with Rowson clumsily trying to catch the reader up on Marvik’s backstory, the Lost Voyage develops into a really good crime thriller. The central plot is very engaging and Rowson ably keeps the reader guessing as to what really happened to the Mary Jo and why. Marvik’s investigation proceeds in a believable manner and the pace steadily picks up as the story progresses, and the book builds to a tense climax.

Marvik is an interesting and credible central character. He is a loner who can take care of himself in a fight, but he is no ‘superhero’ and there is a nice sense of vulnerability about him. There are also interesting references to the mysterious death of Marvik’s parents in the past, which I suspect will feature in future books.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it should appeal to most readers who like British crime stories with a strong regional feel.

This book can be read as a standalone even though it is not the first in the series. There are references to things that happened earlier. The mystery deepens as you read on. I chose the book because the story about the lost ship seemed interesting. I would say there is more about how people handled the incident and the aftermath, rather than a search for the ship itself, or what happened to it.
Overall, there was plenty of action, and I didn't want to put the book down. A good read for mystery/ thriller fans.