Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Jacobs (A Lush and Seething Hell) sends Florida ship captain Samantha Vineyard into peril in this nerve-rattling maritime horror novel. Too broke to fix her boat, Sam accepts a gig as an engineer on the Blackwatch, a supposedly haunted ship set to sail from Puget Sound to the Panama Canal and then across the Atlantic. She has a complicated history with Loick Archambault, the estranged friend who offers her the job, and the ship's captain, Hank Huntington, and is familiar with most of the crew except for the first mate, a woman called Seabees, and three wealthy wannabe sailors all named Steve, who've paid Hank for the learning experience. During the journey, Sam finds a decrepit journal from the sailboat's first voyage that details the captain's increasingly erratic behavior and fascination with a mysterious ritual. After Sam begins to hear voices, one of the Steves disappears in San Diego, and a crewman falls from a mast in Panama City, where Sam meets a witch who warns her about disasters to come. Jacobs walks a fine line between foreshadowing and telegraphing, but manages to conceal enough surprises to make even seasoned horror fans jump. This delivers the goods. Agent: Stacia Decker, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Reading this latest from Jacobs (A Lush and Seething Hell) is a revelatory experience, steeped in otherworldly horror, tragedy, and grim humor. The story follows Sam Vines in a desperate attempt to regain her independence and freedom with a lucrative gig as mechanic of the ship Blackhawk. The pay should be enough to help Sam get her own sailboat back in the water and relaunch her business that charters boat rides for snorkelers and scuba divers. However, Sam first needs to make it through the Blackhawk's journey and her own withdrawal from alcohol. The ship has some peculiarities, but the missing crew members and persistent ghostly visions quickly become the least of Sam's problems. Jacobs's writing is the noise of wind in sails and the strained creaking of taut ropes, perfect for the novel's setting. Rich descriptions, horrifying mysteries, and well-developed characters are additional treasures of this sea yarn. VERDICT Jacobs's haunting novel combines the thrill of nautical adventure with spine-tingling cosmic horror and will have excellent appeal for a wide-ranging audience, with read-alikes including Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant, This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer, and The Deep by Nick Cutter.--Jeremiah Paddock
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