If you've ever watched one of those 'fishing in the North Sea' shows and thought it a rugged lifestyle, this book will put you on the deck. In midstorm. With a female tugboat captain hauling a capsized freighter behind her. If you like strong stories that teach you about new things and lives you'll never lead, don't miss this one. Kept me up late; drove me to my reading chair early. GALE FORCE by Owen Laukkanen

Boy, this one is full of action! The cargo ship Pacific Lion is carrying more than just 5,000 Nissans. Tomio Ishimaru has stowed away on the ship with the help of one of the crew. He has a silver briefcase that contains $50 million in bearer bonds belonging to a crime syndicate, who will stop at nothing to get their property back.
The ship nears Alaska, and in what should be have a textbook move, changes out its seawater ballast and starts listing to the side. It starts to look as though the ship might sink, so the captain gives the call to abandon ship. No way is the stowaway risking being discovered, so he stays onboard.
By now, the salvage tugs have heard about the problem and are heading toward the foundering ship. Gale Force, captained by McKenna Rhodes, who inherited the tug from her father, is best equipped to handle the job, but if they don’t succeed, they won’t get any money, and this job pays well. Well enough that it could get them out of the red for some time.
The crew of the Gale Force must battle the seas, time and the stowaway in order to save the ship.
A great, fast-paced read!

A woman and her tug boat crew face incredible odds righting a freighter that is on the verge of sinking. Unbeknownst to the crew of the Gale Force, a Japanese mob is interested in the illicit payload of the Pacific Lion. Plenty of page-turning suspense and a dash of romance make for another satisfying thriller from Owen Laukkanen.