Adam is an American lacrosse player who’s lost his college scholarship after being caught selling drugs on campus. To make quick money in order to pay for his tuition, he enlists himself on a fishing boat heading out onto the freezing waters off Alaska. He’s green – both metaphorically and rendered so by seasickness – but soon finds his sea legs and an aptitude for the work, aided by the boat’s captain and his offsider.

These two characters fill an archetypal role. Nash, the captain, is both preternaturally able to locate fish and borderline psychotic, so he will either make them rich or kill them in the process. Cole is a hulking, capable presence, who teaches Adam what to do and, more importantly, what not to do onboard. One of those is that going overboard means certain death; and another is to never work with a man named Kaid. When a fleet-wide strike threatens to derail Adam’s money-making venture, he takes even greater risks to reach his payday. Inevitably, working with Kaid is one of those risks.

It’s hardly surprising that, with a fishing boat peopled by an all-male crew, the narrative is overtly masculine. But there’s a testosterone-filled adventure, and then there’s a malign blokeiness in which females are reduced to body parts. There’s too much of the latter which could alienate a majority of readers, including this one.

Despite this criticism, the novel is action packed, with a cinematic quality that could easily translate to film. This isn’t The Old Man and the Sea, but nor does it set out to be. This aims to be a water-based thriller and successfully achieves that goal.

Reviewed by Bob Moore

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Visit Matt Riordan’s website