Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this roller coaster ride of a locked room thriller.
The yacht setting is great. Most of the main characters like Mags, Leon, Oly and Libby are just horrible and impossible to like.
However the other two main characters are mostly pleasant.
The book did drag a bit in places and had a few too many unbelievable things happen.
The ending twist was something I suspected about a quarter of the way through the book but wasn’t positive of.
Author did a good job of making you keep guessing.
Talk about rich people and their twisted ways of trying to one up each other!

This dragged on way too long. The story flowed well until midway and the characters were well developed. I just lost interest and felt the ending was not worth the read.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

A New Year’s Eve Party goes horribly wrong in The Yacht, a thriller by the gifted Sarah Goodwin. Hannah is just not going to fit in to this gathering when she has to work late at her job for a call center then drive twelve hours to Italy to board the luxurious yacht owned by her childhood and university friend Libby and her husband Olly. Maggie, another friend is there with husband Leon. They are joined by Harry, also in their close knit group. The close knit description does not last long. During a wild, disastrous party fueled by alcohol and drugs, Hannah overhears insulting conversations. She wakes up to a scene of totally disarray, food splattered all over the salon, bottles upended, broken glass and…open seas. Where are they? And, more importantly, who can bring the boat back to the dock?

Tension begins to build almost immediately in The Yacht as the guests see their relationships fall apart. Hannah may not have her friends’ vast wealth but once the yacht is adrift that no longer matters. There are many weaknesses among the group and very few strengths. The Yacht is impossible to put down and will make you want to avoid activities on the water! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Sarah Goodwin for this ARC.

First two-thirds was good—a pageturner even though everyone was loathsome but for the heroine. I don’t mind unlikeable characters—they are necessary and often fun—but these were just unpleasantly unenjoyable
The last third of the book veered off into an implausible tale of survival and ended with a thud of a denouement that lacked believable motivation

When Hannah’s friend Libby invites her to a New Years Eve party on a yacht in Italy Hannah is reluctant to attend. Libby and their other friend from school, Mags, are both incredibly rich and Hannah works in a call centre. The only thing that Hannah is looking forward to is seeing their other friend Harry. Although Harry has also made his fortune he doesn’t flaunt it and make Hannah feel like a poor relative.
The yacht is spectacular but as the night progresses Hannah begins to feel more and more out of place.
The next morning Hannah is up early and desperate to leave, only she can’t. The yacht has ben cast adrift from its moorings and they are floating in open water.
As they desperately work out how to get back to shore they find that someone is missing. Suddenly no one knows who can be trusted and as tensions rise long held animosity and grudges surface.
This is a story filled with tension and fear. What would you do if were stranded, how far would you go to survive. I finished it in two sittings. Unputdownable!

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is the 4th Jan 2024. I’ve read all of Sarah’s book and this one was as fantastic as the rest.

The book had lots of twists and turns it was slow at the start but once I got into it I was gripped and couldn’t put it down! My favourite character was Hannah I thought I worked out the identify of the culprit but I couldn’t be more wrong!

Overall, a great book with many twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat!

I'd like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with a copy of "The Yacht" by Sarah Goodwin. As a fan of locked room mysteries, this one certainly delivered the desired sense of claustrophobia. Goodwin's character portrayal has often left me with mixed feelings, as her characters can be unlikeable, and in this case, some were not only unlikeable but also quite cruel, which made connecting with them a challenge.

Our main character, Hannah, didn't exhibit cruelty, but she was rather intimidated by her friends, making it difficult to fully respect her. However, the narrative took an unexpected turn that completely gripped my attention, making the struggle to endure the bullying parts worthwhile. The electrifying nature of the story in its latter part was truly captivating. It compensated for the challenging elements earlier on.

What truly surprised me was the revelation at the end. I had my suspicions about the culprit's identity, but I remained completely in the dark regarding the motive. So, if you find the beginning of the book to be a bit slow, I would urge you to persevere because the final portion of the story is nothing short of amazing.

A nice twist on the locked room mystery. Most of the characters were well written and wether you liked them or not they were all strong and contributed to the story. A good twisty tale to spend the afternoon with.

It was OK and would give the book 2.5 stars. I hated the characters, none of them had any redeeming qualities. Hannah was the most tolerable and realistic, but even she made questionable decisions. Hannah's first mistake was driving twelve hours for the worst weekend of her entire life. If someone tries to kill you multiple times, you don't continue to argue with them. Why would you risk your life to save him when he gets trapped? The guy was just trying to kill Hannah with a knife. I really don't understand why Hannah was friends with Libby and Maggie. Jumping into the icy cold water in the middle of the ocean would have been better than spending a minute with these people. Olly and Harry were extremely obnoxious and felt entitled to everything. I'm not sure how Hannah was able to survive on the rock island. She would have froze to death, there's no way her clothes would have dried. I would have loved to find out what really happened to Libby and who was responsible. I would have never guessed the reason for the yacht drifting out into the ocean or the person responsible.

Recommend giving the books a try. It wasn't my favorite but I enjoyed it. It was a quick read because I wanted to know who was responsible for all the chaos. It's the most terrifying yacht trip imaginable. The biggest surprise of the book was that no one died from drugs or alcohol. That seemed to be what was consumed most on the yacht. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Avon Books UK through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Yacht by Sarah Goodwin is another satisfying mystery.
I’m a big time fan of Goodwin and I love how she always keeps me so entertained with her writing and intriguing characters.
She has delivered another clever and atmospheric read.
The Yacht is well written with the right amount of twists and suspense to keep the reader engaged till the very end.

Thank You NetGalley and Avon for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Omg, some of the 'friends' in this story are completely contemptable, just awful.
The sham friendships and loathing were something to behold! The appearances being kept up were off the scale! The helicopter!
I loved this book, it was fun, scary, treacherous all at the same time!
Brilliant from start to finish - the setting at sea was so good, you could feel the icy water and the desperation to get back to land, the suspicion of each other and the following consequences of each persons actions.
Great ending too, I was so pleased!

Wow……I mean wow that’s all I can think to say after just finishing this book. I was completely not expecting it to end like that!
Can I just say this author did an amazing job at having you hate half the characters but at the same time feel sorry for their plight. The whole time I was biting my nails wondering who would survive! Awesome job by Sarah Goodwin.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Avon books, and Sarah Goodwin for this digital ARC.

Libbys New Year Parties are legendary but this year it’s a very paired down gathering on her and her husband’s luxury yacht moored in France until they waken up in the morning adrift at sea. Then libby goes missing.
Hannah, Libby, Mags and Harry have all been friends for years and Hannah is the only one left living a normal life. No yachts, champagne or helicopter’s for her but she really loves how they still stay friends until she overhears that she is The Povo friend.
It’s a fast paced book but the only likeable characters are Harry and Hannah although I could have shaken her a few times. . I did realise something earlier on the book but no spoilers from me.
Thank you for an advanced copy of this book. Would have been a four stars but for the annoyance of the characters and Hannahs lack of backbone at certain times.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK, Avon for the copy of The Yacht by Sarah Goodwin. I love a good locked room mystery and this one was suitably claustrophobic. I often find Goodwin’s characters unlikable and some of these characters were not only unlikable but also cruel which made them difficult to care about and read. Hannah, our MC, wasn’t cruel but she was intimidated by her friends and it was hard to respect her. Then the book took a turn I was not expecting and I was riveted until the conclusion because it was so electrifying it made the struggle to read the bullying parts all worth it. The reveal at the end came as a surprise because I always had an idea about who the culprit was, but I had no idea what the motive was. If it has a slow start for you, just keep reading, because the last part was amazing!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK. Well this was a surprise!!!! I very much enjoyed this book even though parts were very unrealistic. I was rooting for them ALL the way, there were some disturbing images I cannot get out of my mind but it made for Great reading. I did cry at the end a bit, it was almost like I took a breath of relief! Get cozy with a glass of wine and have fun with this one.

I’ve read a few of Sarah’s previous books but this one had me gripped.

Hannah is invited to join her old school pals Libby and Maggie on board a luxury yacht to celebrate New Year, along with their husbands and an old pal from uni. Always keen to show off her wealth with an annual party, Libby has gone for the unexpected option of a party for 6 this time. A party of 6 that will soon become 5….

When the party turns heated Hannah retires to bed. But when she awakes, it’s certainly not to a Happy New Year.

Would highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

I really enjoyed this lock room mystery ,set on a luxury yacht in Italy .All Is not what it seems ,disasters keeps happening until there is only one man left standing ! Fast paced and intriguing a great read .I liked Hannah but all the other characters were horrible perhaps with the exception of Harry .The ending was brilliant I didn't see it coming .Thank you to Net Galley for my ARC.

This author’s books have the ability to simultaneously make you unable to stop reading while wishing you could bury the book somewhere deep underground where it can't be found. Compelling and didn’t want it to end!

Hannah travels to Italy to spend New Years Eve with her old university friends, on their yacht. Since university her friends have become successful, while Hannah has not managed to earn as much, which has caused a lot of contempt. Soon after, Hannah wakes up and realises they are adrift and what follows is a fight for survival.

I have read a lot of locked room, survival thrillers and generally enjoy them. Although this one was similar to some others I have read, it still manages to be entertaining and suspenseful. A lot of the characters were highly unlikeable but I found their actions and personalities intriguing to read. The overall plot and outcomes were a bit predictable. I guessed the main twists quite early on and it dragged slightly in the middle. Overall though, this was an easy to read, entertaining thriller and I look forward to the next novel after reading the sneak peak. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

The mark of a good read is how many sittings it takes to read it, and it took me one night to finish The Yacht. I do love a locked room mystery, and The Yacht takes that out onto the open ocean.

Hannah is invited by her rich friends to join them on a yacht party, only to find in the morning that they are adrift, with no fuel or way of communicating with the shore. Even worse, her friends are both cruel and selfish, and things go from bad to worse when one disappears, and it becomes much more ominous.

I really liked Hannah's character, as much as I hated her obnoxious friends, so it was easy to root for her survival. The author created an incredibly tense atmosphere, and you could really feel the despair and desperation the characters experienced. This tension kept up right until the end (although I did feel that the reveal was something I had guessed earlier on).

A very enjoyable read, thanks to Avon Books Uk and Netgalley for the copy.

4 stars.