By Jonathan Moore
Publisher: Hydra (Random House LLC)
Pub. Date: May 6, 2014
Rating: 4 & 1/2 out of 5 stars
Close Reach by Jonathan Moore is what might be called a
mini-surprise. It's a brief 200 pages that start out as a chase thriller
staged over the Antarctic seas. I expected to be entertained but I
didn't expect such a visceral edge-of--the-seat roller coaster ride.
Kelly Pratihari-Reid and her husband are in their hi-tech yacht off the
Antarctic coast south of Chile. Kelly receives a distress call from a terrified British
woman. "They're Coming!". Who "They" are is not yet known but in an
isolated area where satellite radios and all other communication devices
are being jammed, they don't want to know. A thrilling chase begins, At
first I was a little disoriented with the sea faring terms and
maneuvers. I'm a certified land hugger. Yet that was not enough to
thwart the excitement of the chase in which the author piles on enough scare and surprises that you are rethinking that idea of taking a relaxing ocean cruise. Soon the story becomes a tale of
harrowing survival on and off the sea. The author creates a group of
unmerciful sociopathic villains with a terrifying motive and our luckless
couple soon find out that this is not just a case of piracy. In the
second half, there are some very brutal scenes that may scare off the
more squeamish yet nothing in this book could be called gratuitous. It
is brutal but necessary to elicit the overall sense of terror and
urgency. Frankly, if I was a film maker I would be banging on the
author's door demanding the rights to this very visual and visceral tale
of adventure. This is a nautical adventure tale that will give you a
sleepless night or two.
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