The author laid bare the internal strife of a heart-wrenching side of grief. Hard to watch. Painful to read. Mourning the loss of a loved one, much too unbearable to face drove the main protagonist to flee. Anywhere. Leave it all behind. Only, she couldn't run away from herself. Risking what would be an unlucky role of the dice, she would soon find herself set on a collision course destined for disaster. Right place - wrong time. Luck of the draw. This well-written narrative took me on a perilous journey. A tailspin I won't soon forget.

With horrifying clarity, Andrea Curtis recounted the chilling last moments of life on board the doomed steamship Asia. More suited for ferry service than that of an open water going vessel, it filled-in for another ship on that ill-fated morning. A great disaster in the making. The vessel with passengers and crew of more than 100 entered stormy waters for which it was not designed. Without warning, enormous rogue waves slammed the ship with a vengeance. I felt the terror rise within me with every wave that furiously swept overboard. It was all so palpable. This catastrophe still stands as the worst disaster of the Great Lakes. The tragedy occurred on September 14th, 1882 on the waters of Georgian Bay. The steamship Asia was sent to Davy Jones' Locker. The voyage of the damned. Everyone on board lost - save two.

As had been known to suddenly happen, a storm gathered in from nowhere. In shocking detail, the author described how the defenseless ship was repeatedly bashed with mountainous waves. Tossed about like a child's toy in a bathtub. It's hull shuttered and groaned. Finally, gave-way to the menacing water. There were no lifeboat drills prior to departing port. Panic seized the ship. It was everyone for themselves. Pandemonium broke out. In altered states of shock, some dove into descending lifeboats causing serious injuries - broken limbs. Others never made it that far.

Afloat somewhere in the middle of Georgian Bay, Christina McBurney and several others clung perilously aboard an ill-suited 20-foot Lifeboat. The small craft was all that stood between them and the gaping jaws of the bloodthirsty water. The wind whipped violently as the waves pounded the dinghy with an anger heard deep within the bowels of hell. Gigantic swells flipped it over a few times dumping everyone into the frigid water. With never-ending freezing winds and punishing waves, it came down to a matter of survival of the fittest. Barely making it, only two lived to tell its horrific tale.

My thanks to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.