Het las wel lekker vlot, goed geschreven, maar halverwege voelde het boek af. Toen kwam er nog een heel stuk. Voelde alsof het boek af was, maar te kort en dat er daarom nog een stuk bij moest. ( )

This starts with a prologue that immediately presses the reader with a wealth of questions. The story itself begins with Frank and Heleen van Rijnsburg who had been together for seventeen years and were still very much in love. Or were they? Heleen certainly thought so, and people who saw them together would agree. Even the reader may get pulled into the farce as they see Frank surprise Heleen with a cruise to celebrate their fifteenth wedding anniversary. Fast forward to the cruise and things are going along very smoothly … until Frank just disappears one night from the ship.

This is a relatively short and fast suspenseful read. Even when the reader finds out early that Frank is leading a double life and had planned his own death, the twists and turns are far from over. With words, Susanne Vermeer paints a beautiful scene of the Mediterranean. The character of Heleen is one that is in depth and the reader can relate to her even if they don’t totally like her. The pacing starts out wonderfully; however, it begins to go lacking midway with leggy details that don’t actually pertain to the story. Overall, I rated this at 3.5 out of 5. ( )

I enjoyed this book! Is it great literature? No. But it entertained me and I liked the plot, although a few things seemed kind if far-fetched. I will probably check out the author's other books, if they have been translated into English. I just came off a cruise and thought this book was about a cruise, but it was only a small part. ( )

I enjoyed this book! Is it great literature? No. But it entertained me and I liked the plot, although a few things seemed kind if far-fetched. I will probably check out the author's other books, if they have been translated into English. I just came off a cruise and thought this book was about a cruise, but it was only a small part. ( )

Helen (and I use the anglicized version of her name) and Frank take a luxury cruise to celebrate their anniversary. Things go quite well until Frank disappears on the cruise ship one night. After a great deal of searching, the ship officers (and the readers) are left to conclude that he must surely have died by jumping or falling off the ship, as Frank does not re-appear there is no body found, and no one could possibly have gotten off the ship. Once Frank has disappeared/died, the real story begins as Helen delves into her husband’s past to try to find him or answers to what really happened. This story involves many and varied twists and turns as Helen discovers strange and disjointed facts about her husband and his past. The story takes us through many countries and areas, which the author has developed quite well. Actually, the cruise, though the title, is not central to this story, but is just one more piece of the puzzle to put together to figure out what really happened. In addition to great descriptions of the setting, the author develops the main and secondary characters quite well. In the past, I have often found translated stories difficult to follow at times and filled with or lacking subtle nuances a native speaker has come to expect. Not so with this book, as it read and flowed quite easily. I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions of settings and the energized, and often sensitive, dialogue and explanations, which only served to provide me with a solid understanding of the plot and storyline. I haven’t read any other of Ms. Vermeer’s books, but, after reading this one, I will be looking for more from and by her. This is a fantastic summer read for anyone who enjoys a great tale of a modern romance/marriage and its ups and downs and potential fallouts. I highly recommend it to any and all readers, since I seriously doubt you will be disappointed. I received this from NetGalley to read and review. ( )