Catherine Ryan Howard | Distress Signals

So, it finally happened. Just when I thought things were going well, it appeared I was wrong. Wednesday morning, I was thinking about how well things were going. I was approaching my goal for my blog for the month of May, turning 30 on Saturday, and going to see The Chainsmokers with a bunch of friends next week. The catch?

A deer. A giant deer running right out in front of me Wednesday morning. Luckily, I'm okay, but my car may be a different story. With that being said, I'm apologizing that it took me so long to finish "Distress Signals" by Catherine Ryan Howard. 

Plot:

The day Adam Dunne’s girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads ‘I’m sorry – S’ sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate – and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before.

To get answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground…

Review:

This book just started off great. Even if you didn't know the entire plot, something dark and mysterious just felt like it was always in the background since the first page. Kind of like when you watch a movie and it starts off sunny and cheerful but there's like a friggin' serial killer in the woods or something. 

The characters in this were a bit complex and at times, I found Adam really unlikeable. But, maybe that was part of the authors charm as I've never been in a situation like him before. Sarah's character was really strong throughout the entire novel, which I really liked considering she was missing most of the time. She was kind of reminiscent of Sandra Bullock's character in the movie "The Vanishing". Corinne's character just kept me anxious the entire time, which was what I needed to get through this after the week I'd had. 

Let's talk plot. I was baffled and confused a few times during this one as there was just so much going on. We have a mysterious glance into the past of what could appear to be a serial killer, a constantly anxious Corinne looking for answers on a cruise ship, a man who's wife disappeared a year ago, and then poor Adam Dunne. While the connection between the man who's wife disappeared a year ago and Adam are quick to put together, the connection of Corinne and the mystery man at the end had my jaw drop. 

As for scenery and dialogue, I thought this was fantastically executed. I could literally hear the people shouting or giving their quips in my head, that's how believable the dialogue was. As I've never been on a cruise ship, and don't plan on going anytime soon, I really felt like I understood what was going on as the author brought us through this giant cruise ship that had danger lurking in every corner. 

All in all, I was extremely impressed with this debut. Not only was the plot enjoyable, the characters believable, but the way that everything was brought together at the end was so flawlessly done. Not one stone goes unturned in regards to what has been going on. I had some sort of inkling (or so I thought) as to what was going on, but was really floored when I finished the last chapter. As a bonus, we got one hell of a satisfying "bonus chapter" of six months after the conclusion. 

I definitely recommend this one! Even after just finishing The Woman in Cabin 10, I was not sick of the missing persons on a cruise ship storyline as this was so much different than Ruth Ware's novel and also so good in it's own way. I would say this is a perfect beach read, or one of those books to pull out for a rainy day stuck inside with a lot of coffee. 

Rating: 5/5