BOOK REVIEW — Titanic 2012, Bill Walker

From Goodreads:
Best-selling mystery novelist Trevor Hughes has no idea that attending his twentieth reunion at Harvard will forever change his life… he meets up with three old friends: Solly Rubens, a self-made Wall Street millionaire; Ken Faust, a successful software entrepreneur; and Harlan Astor, New York real estate tycoon and the glue that holds their circle together.

Harlan drops his bombshell: He is doing what James Cameron did not — he is rebuilding the Titanic, and sailing the ship on the hundredth anniversary to honor those who died, including his great-grandfather, John Jacob Astor IV. Only Trevor is intrigued by Harlan’s audacity. Touched by his friend’s interest and concern, Harlan invites him on the maiden voyage to serve as the official chronicler…

Trevor interviews both passengers and crew, eager to learn the reasons why they chose to sail on the reborn ship… Trevor soon discovers a darker purpose for the voyage, a purpose that threatens to destroy him and the woman he loves. In a race against time that pits friend against friend, Trevor must stop the unstoppable or risk a horrific replay of history.

I have to say first off that the premise of this book is wonderful. After I started reading Walker’s story, two things struck me: first. I dislike flashbacks. In fact, I loathe them. But I kept reading because of the strong prose.

Second, I can’t say I had much sympathy for Trevor in the beginning. He seemed to have too much, a wonderful career, a great lover, a caring agent, friends with plenty of money. And off he goes on the all-expenses paid trip. Meets a lovely woman and falls in love. Not even halfway through the book, I figured out what the “darker purpose” of the voyage was. I think Walker intended this to be more of a suspense than a mystery, so that’s okay.

And the ending didn’t surprise me either. Hm. I’m glad I read it, but maybe the hoopla over the 100th anniversary of a great tragedy put me off. Or maybe this story didn’t give me enough satisfaction once I finished. I wondered what the point was, overall. Maybe I expected some kitschy additions, like in the disaster movie ’2012′ with a tsunami? Er, maybe not.

Titanic 2012 also might be too literary for my taste. I do prefer genre fiction, true mysteries, some promise of a happy ending or a sequel to wrap things up. Still, Walker spins a decent tale. For lovers of Titanic the movie — watch the movie first. There’s a bit of great historical detail in this novel, but I would have liked far more.

Author: Bill Walker
Read: April, 2012
Source: Partners in Crime Review Copy
Publisher: Bill Walker Designs

MY RATING: 4 stars on Amazon and Goodreads