I thought the blurb sounded interesting, but I struggled with this book. The characters weren't as developed as I expected, and it was hard to like or care about any of them. The suspense wasn't as engaging as I'd anticipated for this genre. I also wasn't a fan of the writing style. Many parts of the story felt rushed and disjointed.

Maria is a jurist on the trial that ended in a mistrial when one member of the jury was unable to convict and the killer was allowed to go free. A year later, Maria, her two kids and fiancee set sail on a trans-Atlantic cruise to England, and a killer is loose on the ship, targeting child victims.

The pro's: Fast-paced thriller, threatening intrigue aboard a cruise vacation setting that should be fun.

The con's: Graphic, gory descriptions of cruelty, torture and murder of children and other adult victims who get in the killer's way. Underdeveloped characters.

Would I recommend? Good distraction for a few hours but I can't say I would seek out the authors' for other books in their catalog. Thanks to NetGalley for offering the book for my review.

The Stowaway is a fast paced, exciting thriller that you cannot put down!

Maria and her fiancé Steve book a cruise with their children to get away from the unwanted, negative attention stemming from Maria serving on a trial of an accused serial killer. The serial killer was acquitted.

Maria and her family could not imagine the terror they were about to experience as they embark on this cruise. Trapped on a ship in the middle of the ocean, this book goes to show you can run but you can’t hide!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

What a story for the beginning of a series.!! Really good story; strong characters; good bad guy. Will keep you on the edge of your seat too! You'll be looking for the next book before you're done with this! I have this author's book, AWAKENED, and will now start that!! this will be a quick read for you, not because the story is short, but the book is intense and the action goes by swiftly, making the reader read faster!

Some interesting aspects but overall a very surface story. OK for beach reading. Would like to see this author do a little more research of subject and flesh out the characters a little more.

Solid 4 stars. This book had a great pace where you think you may know who the killer is.

Creepy to think that you are stuck on a boat out in the middle of the Atlantic will a killer on board.

The Stowaway was an interesting read. I saw many of the plot twists before they actually came, but this didn’t detract from the story. The killer was an interesting character: As a watch repairman, he thrived on order and precision, but it’s these very qualities which allowed protagonist Maria Fontana to think ahead of him and trap him. The killer also tended to exsanguinate his victims before displaying them, so the crime scenes tended to be gruesome, though not gory. I wish the book delved deeper into his method of exsanguination. If you enjoy John Sanford’s “Prey” series, you’ll likely enjoy The Stowaway as well.

The Stowaway, by Murray & Wearmouth, is a heart-stopping murder mystery. Maria, Psychology Department Chair at Columbia University, was on the jury for the trial of alleged serial killer, Wyatt Butler. This killer preyed on children dressing them in other children's clothes and leaving them in weird poses. The evidence was not iron clad and the trial ended in a hung jury, one member of the jury voting "not guilty." The press and the people of New York harassed members of the jury long after the trial was over.

When Maria confessed, in a press conference, to voting "not guilty" her life became a nightmare. When she thought things were beginning to return to normal, she, her fiancé, and her two children took a vacation on an ocean liner to England. When the killer starts killing on the ocean liner there is not where to run. Can Maria catch the killer and save her own children? I was allowed to read this on #NetGalley.

A book about a stowaway on a cruise ship? Sign me up please! However, this book is so much more than that! Maria and fiancee Steve take Maria's twins, Christopher and Chloe on a cruise to escape the negative attention Maria has received after serving on a trial where an accused serial killer was acquitted. But this is not the cruise they hoped for as terror begins to reign almost as soon as they board and doesn't let up until the end. This book is chilling, dark, and graphic so know what you're getting into, but if you love a roller-coaster ride with edgy situations, read this!

When I saw the cover of this book on Netgalley....I was immediately sold. I'm not familiar with these two authors so I thought I would request it and see what happens. I am so glad I was approved! This book was so intense and extremely disturbing. One of the better thrillers I have read in quite some time. I was hooked immediately in the beginning with Maria, one of twelve jurors tasked with the difficult decision of convicting Wyatt Butler, an alleged serial killer of multiple children. Due to a hung jury, Butler is set free. Fast forward to Maria, telling the press she was the one juror who plead not guilty and fully accepts the back lash from the press. The rest of the book is focused on a cruise ship where Maria and her family hope to finally have a break after such a tough year. But no...there's someone on the ship hell bent on ensuring it is not a good vacation. For any of the passengers.
I will say it was hard to read some of the more graphic details related to the children. I definitely dissociated there and kept on going. This book was gory, nail biting and had me questioning everything. I really really enjoyed it. I loved the different POVs and it read like different scenes in a movie. Involving side line characters that were able to shed light on things occurring on the ship. And the ending. WOWSERS. So much fun. I would do 5 stars but I am bumping to 4 only because I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending this to someone with kids. It is extremely graphic. I have a kiddo myself and like I said I skimmed over some of those more descriptive details.

The Stowaway’s blurb was right up my alley. Unfortunately, the novel itself was not, and I struggled to make it through to the end. First off, the characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out to me, and I didn’t care about any of them. They seemed to be mere “stick figures” used only to move through the suspense plot. Speaking of the plot, I didn’t find it compelling, and I didn’t buy either Maria’s or the killer’s motivations. Finally, the writing style itself felt rushed and unpolished. The authors used an excessive amount of sentence fragments, so the work felt disjointed and without flow. In summary, The Stowaway for me had a great premise, but failed to deliver.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes a title of a book makes you think you have it all figured out. I was so sure I knew where this was going but to be completely honest, I got the exact opposite of what I was expecting! and I'm so happy it was so different!

Not only was this a suspense, but it was also pretty horrifying so I am providing trigger warnings for that.

It was fast moving, intense and definitely graphic. I finished it in one sitting.

Maria Fontana sat on a jury for a high profile serial killer's trial. When Wyatt Butler is acquitted, the jury members receive death threats, threats against their family etc. Maria eventually comes forward and says she was the juror that voted him not guilty, even though she did not and was only trying to bring the threats to an end!

Fast forward, Maria and her fiancé Steve go on a cruise via the Atlantic with Maria's twins Chloe & Christopher. Once they board the ship, Maria tries to set her paranoia free and have a care free, wind in her hair trip of a lifetime. But when odd things start happening aboard the ship, Maria starts to question whether it's her paranoia leading her, or if these things are actually happening.

Where this goes you will never expect.

Trigger Warning: Graphic in nature, blood, very specific details on decapitation etc.

I was wrong!


This is one of those books where I was rather smugly certain that I knew exactly who was doing what and why…and I was so very wrong!

Even when I thought I knew everything, I loved the book. It’s incredibly suspenseful and simply horrifying. And when I found out how wrong I was, I loved it even more!

Expect a fast moving, intense and, at times, graphic roller coaster ride of a thriller! This is a book I simply didn’t want to put down – and when it was over, I just wanted more.

Excellent read!

*ARC via Net Galley