A Voyage Toward Vengeance

Rating:
Summary: Racing through paradise with blood in his eye.
Review: An aging, embittered engineer finds new purpose in life when he realizes his long missing daughter and son-in-law may have been murdered at sea. He teams up with the tough minded daughter of other victims of the killers to scour the Caribbean for the culprits.

This fast paced, well written novel glues the reader to the pages. It is one of those riveting narratives that you don't want to put down. As the characters develop, all their flaws and strengths are revealed in a way that makes you think of people you know. Except, of course, for the principal villain. Alice (not very villainous sounding) reminds us that what we see in people is often not what they are. The sailing, even for the non-sailor, is exciting. The descriptions of the Caribbean transport us. This is a great read.

Rating:
Summary: Suspense and wonderfully human characters
Review: I read a lot of murder mysteries. This isn't quite that, as one learns early on who the killers are; it's more a suspense novel whose villains are murderers. It is also definitely a sea story. And underlying the whole thing is a theme of meditation on aging and the need for family and purpose at any age. Yes, that sounds like a lot of different things, but believe me it all works well. The complexity of the characters and the book's construction is very engaging.

It is fascinating to watch the slow convergence of Bill Stroud, our hero, with the villains. Bill finds his purpose and sets out on his quest early in the book; he brings all his flaws (a generalized hostility toward the world and a boatload of bitterness among them) along for the ride. But he is a fundamentally good man, and a competent one, and his approach to his quest is methodical. I was not at all sure how it would end (and stayed up till 4 am to find out that my guesses were incorrect) - but I trusted Bill, and had faith that in some way he would triumph. As a sailor, I loved the way Bill's boat almost became another character, as it was her seaworthiness that determined, in large part, the outcome of the voyage.

A great read - engaging characters and locations, described so that I could clearly see them; suspense without irritating misdirection; several laugh-out-loud moments when Bill said just the right thing; a resolution to this voyage that left me wondering what Bill and his friend Lydia will be doing next. I would think anyone who likes well written suspense would enjoy this book, and it will be a special pleasure to the sailors of the world.

Rating:
Summary: Suspense and wonderfully human characters
Review: I read a lot of murder mysteries. This isn't quite that, as one learns early on who the killers are; it's more a suspense novel whose villains are murderers. It is also definitely a sea story. And underlying the whole thing is a theme of meditation on aging and the need for family and purpose at any age. Yes, that sounds like a lot of different things, but believe me it all works well. The complexity of the characters and the book's construction is very engaging.

It is fascinating to watch the slow convergence of Bill Stroud, our hero, with the villains. Bill finds his purpose and sets out on his quest early in the book; he brings all his flaws (a generalized hostility toward the world and a boatload of bitterness among them) along for the ride. But he is a fundamentally good man, and a competent one, and his approach to his quest is methodical. I was not at all sure how it would end (and stayed up till 4 am to find out that my guesses were incorrect) - but I trusted Bill, and had faith that in some way he would triumph. As a sailor, I loved the way Bill's boat almost became another character, as it was her seaworthiness that determined, in large part, the outcome of the voyage.

A great read - engaging characters and locations, described so that I could clearly see them; suspense without irritating misdirection; several laugh-out-loud moments when Bill said just the right thing; a resolution to this voyage that left me wondering what Bill and his friend Lydia will be doing next. I would think anyone who likes well written suspense would enjoy this book, and it will be a special pleasure to the sailors of the world.

Rating:
Summary: A Fast Moving Good Yarn
Review: The novel, "A Voyage Toward Vengeance" is a good yarn, a fast moving page turner.

The characters are well developed, interesting and believable. Each is distinctly unique, partly virtuous and partially flawed except , of course, for the sociopathic killers, who are completely devoid of conscience, ( "It was a dreamless sleep of the totally innocent, known only to small children, saints and psychopaths"), and who pirate the Caribbean sea.

The main character is a no nonsense, out spoken, opinionated, engineer with a value system of black and white who, having lost all his family, is retreating into isolation, self pity and late life boredom. A photo on a post card sent by a vacationing friend begins the process of his renewal and purpose as he begins to suspect that his daughter and son-in-law, thought to be lost at sea, may have been victims of fowl play. He eventually joins with a female companion in arms, a middle aged child of the sixties and seventies. An unlikely partnership is formed, their value systems in frequent conflict, but bonded by their common experience of loss of family under similar, suspicious circumstances.

The plot moves swiftly propelled by the author's knowledge of sailing, sailing craft and sailing in the Caribbean: the latter chased me frequently to the charts of the area. Knowledgeable Caribbean sailors may well experience a "deja vu" as the principles pursue their families' killers throughout the Lesser and Greater Antilles. Challenged by moral dilemmas along the way they are finally reconciled to the fact that piracy on the high seas may demand its own sort of justice.

Rating:
Summary: A Fast Moving Good Yarn
Review: The novel, "A Voyage Toward Vengeance" is a good yarn, a fast moving page turner.

The characters are well developed, interesting and believable. Each is distinctly unique, partly virtuous and partially flawed except , of course, for the sociopathic killers, who are completely devoid of conscience, ( "It was a dreamless sleep of the totally innocent, known only to small children, saints and psychopaths"), and who pirate the Caribbean sea.

The main character is a no nonsense, out spoken, opinionated, engineer with a value system of black and white who, having lost all his family, is retreating into isolation, self pity and late life boredom. A photo on a post card sent by a vacationing friend begins the process of his renewal and purpose as he begins to suspect that his daughter and son-in-law, thought to be lost at sea, may have been victims of fowl play. He eventually joins with a female companion in arms, a middle aged child of the sixties and seventies. An unlikely partnership is formed, their value systems in frequent conflict, but bonded by their common experience of loss of family under similar, suspicious circumstances.

The plot moves swiftly propelled by the author's knowledge of sailing, sailing craft and sailing in the Caribbean: the latter chased me frequently to the charts of the area. Knowledgeable Caribbean sailors may well experience a "deja vu" as the principles pursue their families' killers throughout the Lesser and Greater Antilles. Challenged by moral dilemmas along the way they are finally reconciled to the fact that piracy on the high seas may demand its own sort of justice.