In the Heart of the Sea is a true story about the Essex, a Nantucket whaling ship and its tragic encounter with an angry, revenge-seeking sperm whale. Since the movie was recently being released, my friend Eva and I decided to do a buddy read together. I'll admit I was impressed with the amount of research, details and extraneous information the author included about whaling, Quakers, Nantucket, shipwrecks, you name it. However the first quarter of the story was bogged down with so many facts and recitations that the story itself floundered and it became a little dull and boring. After the actual sinking of the ship though, the story did a complete turn around and I was engrossed until the end. I think because the author focused more on regaling us with the story of the ship and the crew and their dreadful time surviving at sea instead of inundating us with historical facts. If you have an interest in whaling or the Essex whaleship, I would recommend reading this book. There is just a ton of fascinating information. You'll be surprised at not only how long and how far the crew had to travel in an open whaleboat but what they had to do survive while they were lost at sea. It's a pretty horrific story. It will definitely make you think twice about going on your next cruise or fishing expedition. I personally will be land bound for a while, if not forever.

This is the same book that was originally published in 1821 as Narratives of the Wreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. It's fantastic. I'm immediately recommended it to my husband as a quick and engrossing non-fiction book.  Herman Melville based a good deal of Moby-Dick on this narrative.  I read it because I'm doing a historical presentation on Moby-Dick.  I'll probably read it again just for the fun of it.

This is the first-person account of the disaster of the Essex by the first mate.  The Essex was sunk by a whale and all hands had to escape in the whale boats 1000 miles from land.  Chase's narrative is straight forward but wow, he has you in the boat with him.  The hardships they endured are astounding but so is the ingenuity and will to live that the sailors displayed.  They dealt with hunger, thirst, heat, sharks and eventually had to make very tough decisions to stay alive.  Eight of the initial crew of 20 made it home.  If you love a good adventure story or a good survival story or just a good story, this is it.  For having been written in 1821, the language is very accessible.  Highly recommended.

I was fortunately able to get this book from Netgalley in exchange for review.

Owen McKenna is back again breaking hearts, breaking jaws, breaking rules, and solving murders.

Murders that were made to look like accidents were plaguing this ski town, and all the reasons for the murders were pointing back to one man, Joe, who was opposing the building of another ski resort.  Could this be the real reason or was it a diversion?

Why would someone want to hurt or kill anyone associated with Joe and especially his sweet wife?  Joe had no idea, and Owen was on the trail as one person after another kept being eliminated.  It wasn't an easy trail to follow even in ski country.

The characters are well developed as in Mr. Borg's other books, and most are likable and pleasant, especially Owen. The book also brought up domestic abuse and psychological issues along with the murders.  Every facet was very well researched.

The tension of the investigation isn't one that will have you chewing your fingernails, but I liked it that way.  It is a good mystery that will have you guessing until the end about who the murderer is. TAHOE CHASE has a good twist on who the murderer turns out to be.  I thought I definitely knew, but did not guess correctly.  I actually had two suspects in mind, and neither was correct.  :)

TAHOE CHASE was an easy, smooth read with skiing as a major theme.  If you are a skiing fan, you will be drooling over the details...they were phenomenal, but the skiing detail was a bit too much for me, though.  It actually was overwhelming in the sense that it wasn’t of interest.

I am going to rate this book a 4/5.  It is another good read by Mr. Borg.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the author in return for an honest review.