|
|
|
|
A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
Majestic Descending by Mitchell Graham
This spell-binding story takes readers on a whirlwind experience around the world. It begins with an incident that happened to Katherine Adams when she was a college coed. She was one of the victims of a gruesome mass murderer; however Katherine was the only one who survived. You’d think after that her life would be a dream. But many years later, a divorcé and mother of three, she finds herself in the middle of an international intrigue when she and her best friend Beth take a once-in-a-lifetime cruise aboard the Ocean Majestic, the largest and most incredible luxury cruise ship in the world.
While on board one of the men at their dinner table is murdered and this sets up a string of incredible events that lead readers deeper and deeper into a strange mystery filled with plenty of danger and some heart-pounding events.
Katherine, having first discovered the murder on the ship and not wanting to leave everything up to the professionals, starts investigating with the assistance of another fellow passenger, John Delaney, a law professor who just happens to be a former police officer. Together they help the local authorities piece together the events that transpired on the ship and subsequent things that keep happening, to all of them. What - or who – is at the bottom of all these things? Too many coincidences don’t add up. And unfortunately, the jurisdiction for all these incidences leads them from the U.S. armed forces (an aircraft carrier was in the location of the cruise ship at the time of the incident), to Italy where the ship was registered, to New York, and then to Atlanta where Katherine lives.
This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation and turned into a nightmare. When Beth talked her into taking a vacation from her law career, she said it would be a cruise they would always remember. She didn’t lie. But the onboard murder was only one of the horrific incidents that happened on the ship (I won’t disclose more because I don’t want to spoil any of this exciting story for prospective readers) and the weeks after, as Katherine, John, and Beth try to make something out of their ruined vacation. After all, when in Rome …, (well, actually they aren’t in Rome they are in Portofino, but Italy is Italy, right?)
Mitchell Graham weaves together a page-turning story that unfolds not only through words but through visualization as he describes everything to the last detail so readers feel like they are there! It’s an amazing read and this will most likely be a movie in the near future as it has already been optioned. It’s too good not to put it on the big screen. Honestly, I haven’t read a book as good as this in a long time. I couldn’t put it down and I urge anyone who loves a good story to read this book.
Terrorism, corporate espionage, scientific advances, murder, a little romance, and power all come into play in this exciting book. Men and women will enjoy it equally. Make sure you have plenty of time when you pick it up because you will not want to put it down. It’s one of those “don’t bother me I don’t care about dinner or what’s on TV, you pick up the kids from soccer, cancel my haircut, I don’t want to go out, leave me alone, I’m reading” books!
Majestic Descending is a winner. With something new happening practically every time you turn the page, it’s safe to say this is a hypnotic thriller.
© 2007 Francine Brokaw
Let's Talk About It!
Issues newsgroup
Join us to talk about this article!
|
|
|
