A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys

A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

1939, Europe on the brink of war. Lily Shepherd leaves England on an ocean liner for Australia, escaping her life of drudgery for new horizons. She is instantly seduced by the world onboard: cocktails, black-tie balls and beautiful sunsets. Suddenly, Lily finds herself mingling with people who would otherwise never give her the time of day.

But soon she realizes her glamorous new friends are not what they seem. The rich and hedonistic Max and Eliza Campbell, mysterious and flirtatious Edward, and fascist George are all running away from tragedy and scandal even greater than her own.

By the time the ship docks, two passengers are dead, war has been declared, and life will never be the same again.

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I think that A Dangerous Crossing is the kind of book that just not completely works for me. I prefer reading thrillers rather than drama when it comes to a book. And, this book contained way too much drama for my taste. I did spend much of the time waiting for someone to die so that something would happen beside reading about Lily's interactions with the rest of the passengers. And, one of the biggest problems I had were that I grew sick and tired of Eliza Campbell, she is the kind of bombastic character that in the end is just too much. Always showing up and dominating everyone around her. it just got to be too much for me.

Now this book is not all bad, I enjoyed reading about the trip to Australia with its stop along the way. Unfortunately, Lily is just the kind of meek character that I have a hard time connect to. I would have preferred a more independent and head-strong woman to read about. Not in the pompous Eliza kind of way of course, but a woman with a mind of her own.

However, the ending I have to admit was both surprising and good. I did know that the passengers had secrets, but I did not expect it would end as it did. And, I loved the end chapter, with a look at what happened next for the passengers onboard the ship.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!