I've just finished 'Unsinkable' by Dan James (who writes other books under his real name, Dan Waddell). I was sent it to review, and I must say I didn't much like the look of it, but in the end it was not bad.
We all know what happened to the Titanic; it hit an iceberg that the lookout failed to spot in time. But what if something, or someone, had distracted that lookout? James introduces a London special branch policeman, Beck, who has been involved in the Houndsditch Murders and the Siege of Sidney Street - both real events at which the police tried and failed to apprehend the leader of a gang of Latvian anarchists. Beck has seen his colleagues shot in cold blood by the terrorist Piatkow. Racked with guilt, he's tried to go back to work, only to make a disastrous decision that leads to more deaths. He's now left the police force and bought himself a first class ticket on the Titanic's maiden voyage, intending to find work in New York.
Also on the trip are Martha, an American sent by her paper to report on the rich and famous passengers, but desperate to get a real story and earn respect as a serious journalist, and Sten-Ake Gustafson, a old Swedish sailor travelling to the US to see his grandchildren before he dies.
As the ship leaves Cherbourg (it stopped in France and Ireland before heading out over the Atlantic), Beck thinks he sees Piatkow boarding. From then on he's in pursuit, with Martha joining in as she attempts to be the first to get the story. Meanwhile, Gustafson finds himself with an unexpected cabin mate.
James is an ex-journalist himself and knows how to keep you turning the pages. There's plenty of fascinating detail - the Jesuit priest who's taking what turn out to be the last photos of Titanic (Father Francis Browne actually disembarked in Queenstown (now Cobh), thereby surviving), the Irish steerage passengers getting drunk and singing the nights away - but not so much that you feel like you're getting a history lecture. The three main characters are drawn well, as are J Bruce Ismay - the manager of the White Star Line - and Edward Smith, the captain.
Late on the night of 14th April 1912, Beck eventually corners Piatkow on the bridge. They fight, and as the crew tries to assist, a phone rings unanswered in the wheelhouse.
I liked the way that James wove fact and fiction together, and kept it all going at a fast pace. I never would have picked this book up in the library (the cover is awful, reminds me of Jacques Cousteau), but I enjoyed it.
Rosemary
