A fantastic premise for a novel, having read and loved Life of Pi, this became my 'must-have' book as soon as I had heard about it.
Set in 1914 just before the outbreak of war and pre-emancipation, it is a fascinating insight into how polite society quickly breaks down when it becomes survival of the fittest.
Should individual lives be sacrificed to save the majority?

Grace is a 22 year old newly-wed, just widowed, a woman whose family have hit hard times and who is determined to chose her own destiny and not become a lowly Governess like her sister. When her honeymoon is ended by the sinking of the ship, Grace finds herself on a lifeboat of 39, predominantly women.
We follow one story with life on the boat as it becomes clear that rescue is not imminent and alternatively leap forward to where Grace and 2 others are about to face trial for murder.

There are power struggles, secrets, misdirection, sacrifice and ultimately murder. This is a tense novel, made increasingly so as the members realise that the boat is overloaded and that some may need to make way if the rest are to survive. Does the end justify the means?
Grace is an unreliable narrator and as we learn more of her we discover she has hidden depths and is not perhaps the innocent bride we had at first taken her for, for me this makes the novel far more interesting. There are some unanswered question; What was it with the small box? What happened to Blake's boat? Did Grace's husband bribe Hardie? And perhaps just in my imagination, but is there a question mark over Grace and MaryAnn?

So if you enjoy novels where you are left with perhaps as many questions as answers and everything is not wrapped up with a tidy bow, then this is the book for you. Definately a book to make you think about the bigger issues and ultimately - can any of us really ever know what we would be willing to do? A gripping read.