North of Boston by Elizabeth Elo
Pirio
Kasparov decides to set out to sea to help a friend on his new lobster boat in
Boston Harbor (just a touch different then her career as an executive with her
family’s successful perfume business) and miraculously survives four hours in
the frigid North Atlantic after their boat is rammed by a large ship. The Navy is anxious to test Pirio – how did
she survive in 40 degree waters for so long?
Pirio wants justice for her dead friend and for his son, her godson, and
begins to poke around the port trying to identify the ship that rammed
them. As she investigates the collision
and digs into her friend’s recent business dealings, she realizes that this may
not have been an accident at all.
This novel
is dark and layered – you never know who to trust or who is telling the
truth. Pirio is a really interesting
character. She is a driven businesswoman
and a caring godmother, yet her history as a trouble-making teen that hung out
in seedy bars with her best friend allows her to blend into the fishing
community. Add her reputation as “The
Swimmer” who survived in the sea like she did and doors and mouths open before
her. But she may have wanted some of
those doors to remain shut since by the end of the book she’s in danger at
every turn.
I’m hoping
this is the first in a series because I enjoyed Pirio, but it is a great standalone
thriller.
