If you're after a true crime read, this book will not disappoint you. This is about Marine crime that was investigated.

I really enjoyed this book as it is really enlightening and full of information that is interesting and gets you to understand crimes that you do not even think about happening.

A very good book. Seamless, immersive and informative storytelling.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for an advance copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be extremely interesting.

Not only are you reading about a true story about a marine crime that was investigated but I really enjoyed all the information regarding Lloyds of London and how the insuring of ocean going vessels is processed.
This book is sure to appeal to all types of readers.

There is no way I can describe how I felt after I finished this book, but it was nothing compared to the wife and family of David Mockett who was hired by Llyods of London to inspect the ship, or I should say oil tanker Brillante Virtuoso in the Gulf of Aiden after it was set fire by pirates. When leaving the wreckage and beginning his report his questions were how did the pirates get abroad so easily? Who aboard the tanker helped them? Why have there been so many different stories? Even as they were inspecting the wreckage an explosive device was found in the engine room. You come to find out later that same person who had been in the engine room had also been on some other ships which were taken over, coincidence I think not. Then the death of Mr. Mockett has never been solved and even Llyods never even paid his family anything even after his work and report. Some in the shipping insurance field just wanted to pay the owner of the vessel and move on but two men began investigating the whole idea of it being just a scam that would lead them around the world and looking for answers for many years.
The history you learn about the shipping tankers and others, who owns them where they are registered and all that goes with that is a lot to take in. this is a very well-written and well-researched book with tons of information and many people which the investigators tracked down from around the world. A very good book.

i love true crime that really goes into depth of various strands of the story and this one didn;t disappoint!!! really interesting story about piracy and doing your job and the awful messy crossover that can sometimes happen

I think I saw a documentary on this. Regardless, this is a very compelling story, and another example of how some things just go wrong. This has some helpful reviews that talk about it better than I could. I'll simply recommend it.

Thanks very much for the free review copy!!

(Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to review this audiobook)

*** First let me premise that part my overall score is due to the formatting of the ARC I received, which was both torturous and unenjoyable. ***

This book is more of an informational read than an action/adventure/thriller novel, which is what I thought I was getting; with that said, this book appears (taking away the bad formatting) to be a well written novel. If you have ever read "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City", "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic", I would say that this has a similar style. This book keeps you engaged through education more so than entertainment. As someone who is captivated by the sea, I really did appreciate getting more industry specific knowledge, as my only exposure to international shipping issues would be the film "Captain Phillips" (which also tells a tale about a cargo ship being hijacked by pirates).

I think I would have enjoyed this book much more if formatting wasn't an issue. Instead of really getting sucked into the storyline, I had to deal with wonky formatting, random insertions of titles, ARC throughout the text, and weird highlighting that sometimes rendered sections unreadable. I began looking at this read as a chore, and didn't spend much time reading it each day because it was more of a burden. With this in mind, I would STILL recommend this novel to people in book form, because I think having all these obstacles removed would make it a more enjoyable read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
(review will also posted on IG @slowerlowerliving and Goodreads soon)

This book will appeal to those that like tales about corporate crime, such as Enron or Theranos, along with the added element of international maritime intrigue. Campbell and Chellel use the story of one oil tanker, the Brillante Virtuoso, to expose the underbelly of insurance fraud. Just like the insurance industry can be conned by deliberate destruction of buildings on land, it also faces deliberate destruction of ships on the sea.

Many characters are involved in the Brillante Virtuoso. This story involves Greek salvagers, a brash Greek ship owner, corporate insurance bigwigs like Lloyd’s, a Filipino crew, British ex-cops and lawyers, and a British man named David Mockett living in Yemen, who tragically got caught in the scheme as a surveyor.

Through personal stories of the various characters, especially Mockett, the authors weave complex facts into a compelling narrative. The reader will learn about the strange world of shipping, which has quirks such as ships being registered in the Marshall Islands, and flying the flag of Liberia, despite having no connection to those places in reality. The reader also learns about Yemen, and how the Gulf of Aden is both a critical and dangerous place for ships, as Somalian pirates often attack there.

Overall, this is a fascinating account of the niche field of shipping, which influences all of our lives, but is not often explored in detail. It provides perspective to think more about how common goods like oil are actually delivered to our localities, and the intricate web that led it there.

This was an unbelievably brilliant book. Wow I just couldn't put it down, it definitely was a fantastic page turner. And it was so gripping from the very start. When I think of true crime I think of murders but add industrial fraud into the mix and wow such a thrilling ride. It starts with you thinking it's just a simple boat hijacking but it evolves into a very intricate and very deadly fraud claim. Wow it just blew me away with just how well this case was presented in this book. The book flowed seamlessly through this very complex and interesting case. I was staggered by just how large the sums of money at stake was. This book opened my eyes very wide to the varying types of true crime books. It was fascinating learning about industrial insurance and how such large amounts of money was involved. I mean every one who spoke about this case to this day have remained anonymous to protect themselves. This book would be perfect for those like me who love intricate cases dealing with boats. Also those who just love trying to solve fascinating cases.

Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing this epic true crime story to light. It might make you think next time your looking at boats or even if your on a cruise ship you might start wondering who actually own this boat????

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones ,Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/dead-in-the-water-by-matthew-campbell-kit-chellel-penguin-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365 or lady Reading365 or ladyc reading

I'm not sure this book is for a casual reader who just wants to get straight to the point of what happened. The way it was written made it very difficult to read. The authors are obviously very passionate and the book is incredibly researched, but unfortunately it felt like it was bogged down by a lot of unnecessary information and I couldn't get my brain to engage.

<b>**</b> <i>Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to wait for this book to be published so I could get the audiobook. I am so glad I did because 1. the narrator was absolutely amazing, and 2. the ARC was close to be unreadable and would have taken me three times as long [if not more] to try and read it. I was frustrated over that, but grateful I was able to get an audiobook.</i> <b>**</b>

This was a really good book. I knew very little about shipping and all that it entails and while I had heard of the pirates that haunt the shipping world, I had never really read anything about them and the trouble and consequences they bring. This was quite the education and I am very glad I read this.

There were times of real frustration as the cover-ups kept going, the rich just kept walking away [and continue to do so, which is infuriating] and people died. All to get insurance money. There were parts that were so sad that I could hardly bear it for the families involved and I know they will somewhat heal, but they will never lose all the trauma that they went through and continue to go through.

If you love good nonfiction and are fond of true crime that will both knock your socks off and frustrate the heck out of you and have been even a teeny bit intrigued by shipping and piracy and theft, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it [as well as the audiobook - the narrator for this was superb].

Thank you to NetGalley, Matthew Campbell, Kit Chellel, and PENGUIN GROUP Portfolio for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DEAD IN THE WATER

“Thrilling” probably isn’t a word one would typically associate with insurance fraud, yet it’s arguably a most apt description of the book Dead in the Water by journalists Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel.

The book is an extended take on the pair’s reportage for Bloomberg regarding the Brilliante Virtuoso, an oil tanker destroyed off the Yemeni coast after an encounter with pirates. While unfortunate, at first glance the incident could be characterized as among the typical risks of maritime logistics: the threat of piracy is par for the course for ships at sea, and operators can take out insurance precisely in the event of such occurrences.

Yet upon closer scrutiny nothing was typical about the loss of the Brilliante Virtuoso. As uncovered by Campbell and Chellel, the hijacking and destruction of the ship was all an elaborate ruse—involving at least one murder—to defraud its insurance provider, Lloyd’s of London, of hundreds of millions of dollars. And we know this now because witnesses have come forward, conspirators have been named, and parties have been found guilty. Most importantly, it turns out the ship’s owner appears to have gotten away with the same modus operandi before.

No doubt, the scandal at the heart of Dead in the Water is naturally gripping stuff, which Campbell and Chellel recount in exquisite detail. More than this however, the book serves as a useful window into both the maritime and insurance industries. Absent a specific interest in such subjects neither would arguably attract the attention of the casual observer. Yet both necessarily take on a life of their own in the book, leaving readers to appreciate the intricacies.

“Shipowner files false insurance claim for lost tanker,” would be an accurate if cynical summary of the events in Dead in the Water. Yes, that was exactly the crux of the matter—yet there’s so much more to it than that. It may not be a swashbuckling tale of adventure on the high seas, but it has much of that flavor and flair, from the shores of Yemen to the courtrooms of England.

Dead in the Water by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel is an explosive true crime story detailing the “fake” hijacking of a large oil tanker off the coast of Yemen for the insurance money. We follow the dogged private investigators as they peel the onion uncovering corruption at the highest levels of global finance involving the shipping industry, Lloyd’s of London, Greek Oligarchs and corrupt Yemen officials. It reads like a gripping suspense novel, thrilling, finely paced and shocking in its revelations. Campbell and Chellel take us step by step through this complicated tale which starts with a report of piracy and its investigation by a British surveyor, David Mockett, who is murdered. His is not the only suspicious death in this tale. What is revealed by the ex-London detectives turned private investigators is conspiracy and corruption of global proportions. There are white knuckle, hair raising occurrences making this book at times unputdownable!
I highly recommend this amazing feat of investigative journalism. Thank you to Penguin Random House for the Advance reading Copy. Enthusiastic 4 stars!!!!!

I love true crime, especially when it reads like fiction. I wasn’t familiar with the event described in Dead In The Water by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel, but the subtitle grabbed me: A True Story pf Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy.
I didn’t realize how totally ignorant I was about international shipping, insurance, and the Middle East until I got into this book. It is equal parts “Captain Phillips” (Tom Hanks movie) and “The Wire” Season 2, and the writing is great.
The story involves the 2011 incident involving the oil tanker Brillante Virtuoso, which was attacked by pirates and set on fire. David Mockett, a working for Lloyd’s of London, inspected the ship, and wondered he was left with more questions than answers. How the pirates had managed to board the ship so easily? And if their goal was to hold the ship ransom, why did they destroy it? Mockett was murdered shortly after his inspection, and the book is a detailed exploration of the trifecta of crimes: insurance fraud, murder, and piracy. I loved it.

I received a copy of Dead In The Water from Penguin Group Portfolio and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. Fans of books like Bad Blood and The Big Short will appreciate, as well as true crime fans. Five stars (while I agreed with the negative comments about the formatting issues with the ebook, I can’t blame that on the authors’work).

This is an interesting story, with a lot of background on shipping, the history of Yemen, Lloyd’s of London, and the details and investigation of the 2011 hijacking and subsequent sinking of the Brillante Virtuoso, an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden. The size of the insurance payment was 100 million.

Unfortunately the formatting of the e-book was so poorly done it made it nearly impossible to read at time.

One dark night in July of 2011, the tanker Brillante Virtuoso was boarded by pirates, set on fire and left for ruin.
Or was it?
Campbell and Chellel set out to tell the story of what really happened to the Brillante Virtuoso that night, as well as examining the repercussion of what seemed, at first, to be just another case of insurance fraud.

I found this book to be intriguing, compelling and shocking in equal parts. Although some of the insurance information went well over my head, I do think the authors have written this complex story in a very accessible way. It just so happens that insurance at Lloyd's of London is, by nature, a confusing system.
I very much enjoyed the humanising angles of the story - a crew member from the ship, the widow of a man killed while investigating the fraud, the salvager who came forward with information about what happened in the days after the 'pirate' attack - all these serve to remind you that although the bigger story played out in court over money, the fraud ruined individual lives and had repercussion far beyond just insurance pay-outs.

Overall, a fascinating story told in a engaging and accessible way.
4/5

This is a very informative story. Starts with looking at the history of Lloyds shipping, the growing popularity of ships travelling through the Suez Canal as well as the increased risk of pirates hijacking tankers/freighters in order to ransom the vessel and its crew. We are also given a narrative summary of David Moffett’s career from sailing the seas to becoming a trusted insurance surveyor. The narrative then condenses to the situation that befell the Brilliante Virtuoso which was carrying a shipment of oil, pirates boarded the ship and for whatever reason set the ship on fire and disappeared, the crew is rescued by ships nearby responding to their SOS and the burning ship is taken on by marine salvagers until a decision is made on the remains and the cargo by the owners. David Moffett is hired to investigate and he finds the eyewitness reports vs the physical evidence don’t add up - raising more questions than answers. In the midst of this Moffett is murdered…

The rest of the story recounts the investigations by various parties into what happened aboard the Virtuoso as well as the death of David Moffett and trying to identify and bring the persons responsible to trial.

Overall the story reads more like an in depth history book than say a true crime/thriller story. It goes into great detail to explain various aspects like for example Lloyds involvement in the shipping industry, as well as comparisons to similar maritime events that involved one or more individuals that was being investigated in connection to the Virtuoso. I think a lot of the information would wash over readers that have absolutely no interest or understanding of material (maritime, insurance, evidence gathering, etc) that is discussed within.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

I would recommend this book for fans of exposes like Bad Blood or The Big Short. I love this book and I could not put it down. I thought I knew what happened from reading the author's Bloomberg article, but the book includes so much more detail. It illustrates just how brazen the crime was and how difficult it was to prosecute. The story is well written. I especially like the interviews with people close to the case. You'll never look at the shipping industry the same way again.

This was very informative on the history of shipping and how it moves goods around the world. The story darkens when it gets into pirates overtaking the Brillante Virtuoso oil tanker and making big problems before taking off. The plot just keeps thickening from there, as investigations and more investigations are kicked off. There are deadly consequences for one man, hired by Lloyd’s of London regarding the incident. There are deeper things afoot in this maritime true crime case with larger implications. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Free ARC from Net Galley

I love true crime and especially when it reads like a fiction thriller. I had never even heard of this event. It made me wonder about other so-called crimes.