Looking at the elements of ‘No Escape’, it should have been a five-star read. A prologue that starts the book with a body in the water. A mystery disclosed over two intercut timelines Now and Then where the Now is in crisis and who, if anyone, survived is unknown and you know the Then is doomed even before you have any idea of why. Secrets on board. Beautiful people in a gorgeous location living a life away from care. Two young women, best friends since childhood, escape from their cares in the UK and reinvent themselves on a gorgeous yacht, All of which is spiced up by deadly violence, betrayals of trust, a covert romance and crewmates with dark pasts and deep secrets.

Despite all that, I nearly set this book aside a couple of times and, although I finished it, I found it unsatisfying, like a sponge cake that hasn’t risen properly where knowing what it could have been only deepens your disappointment.

So what was it that didn’t work?

Firstly, the pace: it drags at times. I felt the book could have been a third shorter. I could see that information was being held back to create suspense but it just made me want to get on with things. The narrative seemed to me to meander rather than move forward.

Secondly, the main characters, Lana and Kitty, were not very interesting. They were two slightly shallow young women who ran away from their lives: Kitty because she likes to party and be where Lana is and Lana because -boo hoo- her daddy lied to her – how unbearably sad is that? OK, maybe I’m lacking a little empathy here, but if The Blue had been my boat, neither one of them would have been invited to join the crew. The problem for me was that the story is told from Lana’s point of view and I was clearly meant to share her joy and pain, not be sitting there wondering when she would grow up.

Thirdly, too much of what makes the plot work is disclosed in a confessional rush in the final chapters. I thought it was a clever and plausible plot that got buried under Lana’s overwrought angst and then suffered from being disclosed as a tell rather than a show.

Still, I’m sure it will make a good TV mini-series for Paramount+: beautiful locations, beautiful people, a little sex, a little violence, secrets and lies. With the right director and camera work, it should be fun. Here’s the trailer: