The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan, 278 pages

"The Lifeboat" is written by first time novelist, Charlotte Rogan.  It is an intense tale told from the perspective of Grace Winter, who is on trial for murder after surviving 21 days in a lifeboat.

The year is 1914, World War I has just been declared in Europe, and Grace and her new husband Henry are sailing back first class to America on the ship the Empress Alexandra.  There is an unexplained explosion and Grace is one of the people who make it off the ship onto a lifeboat.

It took a good long while for me to appreciate this story because I am not a fan of survivor stories, but oh my is this intense and by the end I was totally enjoying it.  Is Grace good or bad, victim or criminal?  One thing is for sure, she is a survivor.

I'm looking forward to discussing this with other members of the library book club in a few days!