The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, & Karen White ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

The Glass Ocean is a historical mystery by three authors who have all written popular books on their own. When they team up, the result is bound to be great. This is a dual narrative novel that takes place in 1915 and present day. The two stories are intertwined throughout but there is a mystery that doesn't get solved until the end. The story is centered around the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. Two of the main characters were on the ship and the other is trying to find out more about one of her ancestors.

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September 2019; William Morrow; 78-0062642462
audio, ebook, print (432 pages); historical fiction

1915 - Carolyn and her husband Gilbert are uber-rich members of the upper class. They live in luxury in NYC. Gilbert has some business to take care of in London and Carolyn decides to travel with him so that they can spend some time together and hopefully strengthen their marriage.

The only problem is that they are traveling on the Lusitania which was torpedoed by a German u-boat and sank killing 1,198 people and sparking the involvement of American in WWI. Only 761 passengers on the ship survived. Gilbert is involved in business the entire trip but is there more going on than just business? There is a rumor that there are German spies on board - is Gilbert involved in conspiring with the Germans? Carolyn, upset that she can't figure out what's going on with her husband, starts a romance with another passenger that she has known her entire life.

Tess is also on-board the ship - in second class. She and her sister have spent their entire lives as con-artists always looking for the next way to steal from someone. They are on-board to pull their greatest - and Tess hopes last - heist.

Present day - Sarah is an author who had a run-away best selling first book but can't find an idea for her second book. Her finances are in bad shape and her mother has Alzheimer's and needs constant care. When she opens an old family chest, she finds information about her great-grandfather, who was a steward on the Lusitania, that could change the known history of the sinking. She travels to London to try to find out the real truth behind the wartime sinking.

The lives of the women intertwined throughout this novel and helped create a lot of mystery over what really happened in 1915. There is a tragedy, a little mystery and several love stories throughout the book which make it all more exciting. I didn't know much about the sinking of the Lusitania and found it very interesting to learn some history as well as being involved in these characters lives.

Buy The Glass Ocean at Amazon

Other books by Williams, Willig, and White:
The Forgotten Room (2016) - Read my review.
All The Ways We Said Goodbye (coming in January 2020)

Connect with the authors: 
Beatriz Williams: website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Lauren Willig: website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Karen White: website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

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