The Golden Rendezvous

by Alistair MacLean

MURDER FOR MILLIONAIRES

A luxury cruise ... A missing atomic scientist ... A hidden nuclear device ... A very rich and beautiful woman ...
A band of desperate hijackers ... A ship of gold.

Put them all together with First Officer John Carter, tough, shrewd, resourceful, and you have a fantastic blend of suspense – adventure and international intrigue.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Crime, Action, Suspense

270 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Alistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain), the son of a Scots Minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941, at the age of eighteen, he joined the Royal Navy; two and a half years spent aboard a cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his first novel, the outstanding documentary novel on the war at sea. After the war he gained an English Honours degree at Glasgow University, and became a schoolmaster. In 1983, he was awarded a D. Litt. from the same university.

Maclean is the author of twenty-nine world bestsellers and recognised as an outstanding writer in his own genre. Many of his titles have been adapted for film - The Guns of the Navarone, The Satan Bug, Force Ten from Navarone, Where Eagles Dare and Bear Island are among the most famous.

Reviews

[Melindam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

The audiobook is very well narrated by Ciaran Saward.

Die Hard on a luxury cruise boat in the 1960s.



So, we have the hand-picked Elite of the Elite enjoying a luxury cruise on the Caribbean without a care in the world, or so they think. They are actually congratulating themselves on being on a dreamboat where the waiting list is as long as their arms.



But then, things quickly turn the dreamcruise into a nightmare, terrorists hijacking the ship with some smooth criminal at the helm and staff and guests cannot do anything, but watch on helplessly.... IF IT WASN'T for 1st officer John Carter, MacLean's bit bland, trademark everyman hero, who looks like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but -of course- turns into Bruce Willis in a naval uniform




up against




The story is action packed and entertaining with MacLean's dry humour and full of twists and turns.
A nice distraction and nothing you should take too seriously, but maybe you shouldn't read it if you are on a cruise. ;)

[Lahar Appaiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing books is a bit like a Rorschach Test- you tease out things that you want to see, and ignore others that don't seem terribly important to you. No two people ever approach a book in quite the same way- those familiar twins, Context and Subjectivity, shape every review you make.

Being fully aware of this, it is with little hesitation that I say the following sentences: The Golden Rendezvous is Alistair MacLean's best book, which is a staggering achievement in itself. It is also, narrowly beating out The Day of the Jackal, the finest thriller novel ever written.

The book distills the very best of MacLean- take a wry, intelligent protagonist, some suave Hans Gruber-type villains (the Die Hard guy, later famous as Snape), a beautiful/sensitive/intelligent heroine, and a truly hopeless situation. Throw lots of threads all over the place, then bring them all neatly together at the end. And, best of all, put them all in the sea, MacLean's natural habitat.

This is as truly a page turner as was ever written- every page brings forth something new, something unexpected, and you find yourself turning pages so smoothly that before you realize it, you're half way through. This is one of the hardest books to put down, it's *that* gripping.


The book contains enough doses of the trademark MacLean humour- there's none of the foreboding or the tragedy from Fear is the Key or the Dark Crusader, and none of the intensity of HMS Ulysses or Night Without End. It also lacks the slightly dated feel of The Guns of Navarone or Circus, the frivolousness of Golden Gate and Caravan to Vaccares, and the sometimes overbearing Man Against Nature feel of Ice Station Zebra or South by Java Head. All of the above are great books, mind you, but you can only read them every third year or so.

More than that, it's what the book has, that ultimately counts. It's got the frenetic non-stop action and the unexpected twist at the end of Where Eagles Dare, it's got the smooth, highly talented hero of Floodgate, it's got the Nothing Makes Sense Till The End feel of Where Eight Bells Toll. And it does it better than all of them.

This may not be a very intense book, or a very meaningful one. MacLean wrote several of those. However, if thrillers are the junk food of literature, sometimes, we want to indulge ourselves and go all the way. We want to order extra bacon on our pizza, we want mayo with our fries, we want caramel sauce on our ice cream. And this book gives you all of that, without compromising in any way.

If you had to take one thriller with you to a desert island- if you had to pick one book that you could open a random page from, read that page, and then close the book with a smile on your face as you wait to be rescued, then look no further. From that perspective, this is the finest thriller ever written.

[Jonathan Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was 16 years old when I discovered Alistair Maclean. Actually this book was first read in Reader's Digest Condensed Books, and I didn't really appreciate it. But then when I really 'tasted' Maclean - you have to be the right age, and have the right education, to appreciate classical writers like Alistair Maclean - I never knew a writer who could be so GOOD. Yes, he writes suspense and adventure; but he is always clean, always humorous (in a self-deprecating way) and always marvellous in his gripping writing style.

If you are a boy in love with adventure, or a fan of suspense-full thrillers, there's nothing like Alistair Maclean to whet your appetite. I enjoyed every book of Alistair Maclean, except one. It was The Partisans, I think. But Alistair Maclean is worth being a part of a literature course in college. He is that good.

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the joys of a good old-fashioned, clean adventure novel! As a girl I loved R. L. Stevenson and J. F. Cooper, but after a while you've read everything like that several times over. So I was happy when my FIL introduced me to MacLean. Every time we visited I'd read his collection, and eventually I began picking them up myself at used book stores. My books have been in storage in another state for several years, so I was happy to see these available on Overdrive.

Golden Rendezvous takes place on the world's most luxurious tramp ship. A stolen nuclear device, cash-strapped Caribbean dictator, and several missing crew men combine to make a lively story, rather like reading a Die Hard movie. But because this is an older book and by MacLean, there's less violence and almost no profanity, along with plenty of action and enough twists to keep the reader entertained till the last page. They may not qualify as "Great Books", but they're definitely great for reading and rereading.

NB - The "N" word was used once, not directed at a person but as part of a saying.

Probably the best MacLean books are Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare and Ice Station Zebra, but I like almost all of them.

[Lenny Husen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect MacLean. His best work was done in the '50's and '60's. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish. I slowed down on purpose to stretch it out.

Here are quotes from the book:
"I couldn't make it; reasons, instinct, logic, common sense all told me I couldn't make it, but I made it."

"It was about forty years too late now, I supposed, for anyone to point out to Dr. Marston that he was a born actor. No question in my mind now but that that was what he should have been: the gain to both the Thespian and the medical worlds would have been incalculable."

Captain Bullen said wearily, "More pressure. I've had enough of cables flying across the Atlantic. Too much grief. Just an old beaten man, First, just an old beaten man. He stood there for a moment, hands outspread on the guardrail, doing his best to look like an old beaten man and making a singularly unsuccessful job of it, then straightened abruptly.

[Feliks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alistair MaClean is one of the more difficult thriller authors to endorse. The problem is, that he was so uneven in his output. He wrote what, 30 books? But quality is entirely "hit-or-miss", throughout. He was the 'junk-food' of the classic-era thriller-writers. So sometimes you reach for one of his titles; knowing its possibly bad ...but you just keep stuffing it into your craw. He's the writer that you're always a little-bit-embarrassed to be caught reading.

People talk about where the 'rot' in his technique ...'began to set in'. Here? Could be. I agree this particular plot has some minor issues with credulity. It's a combination gold heist and a stolen nuke story. Err..

But really, this is only his eighth book! I've read his earliest works and unfortunately I found them no better than anything else he wrote later. So where exactly does his 'best' writing lay hidden? I think its found right here in this very same novel. Yep! Here, and in a few others of the same circa, (such as, 'When Eight Bells Toll').

I remember this title (Golden Rendezvous) as being particularly well-paced and gripping. That's what MaClean does best. The yarn here seems to all take place between a pair of ships confronting each other in the mid-Atlantic. One ship hijacks the other by sending out a false distress signal. So, this means a single, unified location ...as even Aristotle would approve of. Tight, taut, condensed.

Yes, the protagonist 'First Officer John Carter' does seem far too sure of himself and far too daring...but I believe that's because he is not--after all--'just an ordinary first officer'. He's a 'ringer' --as usual in a MaClean tale.

In the beginning of the story, you see him dangling over the side of a ship by a rope. Just accept it, because MacLean really could handle such action scenes (regardless of their overall sense) with dab finesse. Its great as long as you suspend disbelief. A man is hauling himself up a rope, hand-over-hand, up the side of an ocean liner. Focus on that. Don't think about 'why'. This is the same enjoyment you get when you're in the *middle* of a bag of crisps. When you're at the *end* of the bag, and you look down--and only then, do you feel slightly sick.

Bottom line: if I had to select a few favorites from MacLean I would toss out a lot of other titles before tossing this one. When MacLean sets a story somewhere out on the ocean you just gotta respect it. Sea tales are his forte'. You feel the spray in your face and the roll of the deck. Just don't look down!

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably remember the movie (starring Richard Harris) more than the book, really. But I would say that this is readable, but not in any way among the first dozen or so you should pick if you're starting on MacLean.

[Ariadne Cares · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Alistair MacLean's work ever since I first discovered it in junior high. I'm a girl who loves suspense and action/adventure, but am conservative enough not to appreciate the hardcore profanity and sex scenes found in novels like Robert Ludlum's thrillers. MacLean's works, written mostly in the 1950s and 60s, are consistently clean and classy. There is romance in every one of his novels except for Ice Station Zebra, but not so much that it slows the pacing of the plot. MacLean has one character type, and he does that type extremely well. He and Byron no doubt had a great deal in common: MacLean’s hero in every novel is the Byronic man engaged in a struggle against evil, fighting to retrieve the treasure and rescue the innocent, while coolly attracting the girl in the process. MacLean follows this formula and this plot in every novel, with only two or three exceptions. He even gives several of his protagonists the same name--“John Smith”--in many of his works. The MacLean hero is almost always in both physical and emotional pain, but he doesn’t feel sorry for himself and is always braver, kinder, and more ruthless than all the other good guys. He is consistently able to do what no one else can: save the innocent people who are somehow terribly threatened, incapacitate the villain, and retrieve the missing plans, kidnapped family or scientist, stolen narcotics or virus, or buried treasure. But if, like me, you love action/adventure/suspense thrillers and Byronic heroes, the formula works pretty much every time.

MacLean is such an extraordinary storyteller that he makes ludicrous plots seem terrifyingly believable. Of COURSE the villains stole a small nuclear bomb to blow up the gold-transport ship so that none of the innocent millionaires aboard could ever tell the world about how the villain stole all the gold from the ship. HOW ELSE could the villain have achieved his plans? OF COURSE the hero, John Carter, achieves nearly impossible climbing and killing feats after having been shot in the leg three times the night before. WHAT ELSE would you expect from a MacLean hero? This is the plot of The Golden Rendezvous, and in MacLean’s capable hands, the reader doesn’t even question its plausibility, because he is too delighted by the thrilling action scenes. And this novel is full of non-stop action. That’s rather a cliché nowadays, but in the case of this book, it’s actually mostly true. MacLean’s writing is characterized by taut suspense combined with outstanding subject-matter expertise and wry Scottish humor. His books are set on ships, trains, oil rigs, and other exotic locales around the world. The Golden Rendezvous, is one of his better works: a few of his works like Partisans, and Caravan to Vaccares, devolve into the mire of villainous political philosophy ad nauseum, or contain genuine tragedies at the end (real tragedies are only allowed offstage before the book begins) like Fear is the Key, in which the girl goes off with someone else or—horror of horrors—actually dies in The Black Shrike, but otherwise, MacLean writes winners nearly every time. The fact that more than seven of his novels have been made into movies with stars like Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford speaks for itself. Pick up a copy of The Golden Rendezvous today and see for yourself!

[Daniel Villines · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a rare thing for a 'thriller' to garner four or five stars from me. While reading these types of books, I feel the mapping of the plot, as if the voice from a GPS computer were directing my every turn. It feels manipulative. While the sights may be interesting along the way, the randomness of life has been suppressed.

This is the feeling that was conveyed by The Golden Rendezvous. It was an engaging turn of events and the setting, a passenger ship at sea, enhanced the experience. The characters, however, serve only the plot. They drive the action, which diminishes their human presence in the story. While the plot offers a few twists, the characters remain flat and uninteresting. The hero, for instance, exhibits extraordinary powers of reasoning and a super-human capacity for endurance. These characteristics are simply not true to life, but they had to be included in order for the story to make its way from beginning to end.

As a 'thriller' you get what you pay for with this novel, but not much of anything else.

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book, but silly.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was written just around the middle of Maclean's "good period," which generally ran from his first (and many would say best) book in 1955, HMS Ulysses, through Where Eagles Dare in 1967, (as opposed to the clunkers he wrote through the 70's and 80's). Like many if not most of his books from that early period, it's written in the first person, and while it's well-plotted and enjoyable enough, his voice and characters are so consistently recognizable there is absolutely nothing here that distinguishes Mr. Carter in this story from the similarly self-deprecating tough guy heroes in other books like The Secret Ways, The Satan Bug, When Eight Bells Toll, Fear is the Key and Night Without End.

I personally prefer either his World War II or Cold War books, but there's certainly nothing to criticize here (aside from a villain named Dr. Slingsby Caroline), so I good solid 3-star recommendation, if you've already read most of his other stuff.

[Robert Brokenmouth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This, I think, is where the rot sets in for real. The character knows too much and doesn't share it. Instead, we get lots of pontification. It's a great plot, but I don't give a bugger about the characters, partly cos they talk too much bollocks. Compare this with his first three books and you can see he needs an editor - but he obviously wouldn't listen. Pity, it's one draft away from being 4 out of 5.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great action thriller. It features an isolated setting (the action takes place on a ship in the middle of the ocean), a protagonist who is not your typical action hero, and a fast-paced story where danger is not just from the villains, but also from the environment. Middle of the ocean and huge storms - you're not going to experience smooth sailing.

I was pleasantly surprised with this story. MacLean throws in some tension early on but it's the first few shocks that really drive the suspense and threat level. And from that moment, the book does not let you go. It's fast-paced, well written. I like how the use of the environment is used to add more danger and tension. A lot of the action takes place at night, and in bad weather conditions. When you have a ship as the setting, just think about all the possible places people can hide. Think about how treacherous moving about can be in bad weather. Think about how isolating it can be with no way to communicate with the rest of the world.

I don't know that this makes me want to set sail on a ship - the thought of being hijacked is not appealing. But it was enjoyable and tense. I had fun reading this.

[Surreysmum · Rating 2 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1984:]. A MacLean I thought I'd read, but I had no recollection of it. I must admit that I found the non-stop slaughter a little more difficult to take than I remember from my teen-age perusals of this author. In this one, our strong, silent first-person narrator is first officer of a cargo boat-cum-luxury liner which is hijacked by representatives of a small third-world government for the purpose of stealing $150 million in gold. A small nuclear weapon and a kidnapped scientist are involved, as well as the inevitable beautiful but infuriating girl, and they are detonated, rescued, and fallen in love with respectively. MacLean has a trick of creating atmosphere and realizing the physicality of his settings which redeems the otherwise inexpressibly disgusting premises of his stories. I'd like to see him try to write one from a woman's point of view!

[Olga Volodina]

Одна из самых любимых книжек, ладно уж, детства: открытое море, пираты, заложники, ядерная бомба, главный герой - умница и талантище, явно из тех, кто "в штабе писарем отсиделся", уж настолько эффективно действует. Раз в год или около того, когда настроение совсем ни к черту, перечитываю с огромнейшим удовольствием.

[Nooilforpacifists · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read but one MacLean, make it this. It might have the single most satisfying final page of any suspense novel. I first read it as a kid, and vividly remember my disappointment that all of MacLean’s weren’t this good.

But I don’t remember ever finding out how the wrecked radio on the good ship Campari was working at 2am on the last day when Mr. Carter sent the fake message.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Read one other time later, I believe.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to like McLean's books quite a lot in high school but this one was only so-so. Or maybe they are just dated or my tastes have matured.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first alisair maclean at sixteen...started me on a roll that saw me read all of his books over the next couple of years...biggles for teens

[Isaac A · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars. MacLean does it again; I could hardly put it down. The way the story of the SS Campari opens up is perfect, and the plot twists superb. Fantastic book, well laid out, with an engaging plot, witty dialogue, and realistic characters. Unquestionably worth reading.

First Where Eagles Dare, and now TGR; I’m hooked on MacLean’s adventures.




(SPOILERS BELOW)





Only 4.5 stars because of two minor things, that may make it slightly dated for modern sensibilities.

1. The human body can do a great many things on adrenaline despite exhaustion, but I think F.O. Carter is just that little bit too strong or tough (OP) for realism. On the flip side, being kidnapped by murderous pirates likely helps determination and raises the pain threshold significantly. It’s probably what would happen in real life, but feels too much for a story, as Tom Clancy would say.

2. The heroine is a bit too much of the stereotypical beautiful spoiled heiress. Her redemption arc takes an unexpected - and not automatically positive - twist at the end.

But taking half a star off because the hero had too high a pain threshold and the heroine “annoying” feels subjective, especially when they’re historically accurate. I still definitely recommend it.

[Michał Jabłoński · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rozwija się powoli, początków wydaje się, że będzie powielać scenariusze Aghaty Christie, ale na szczęście okazuje się być klasycznym MacLeanem z wciągającą i precyzyjną akcją. zakończenie może ciut zbyt idealne i hollywoodzkie.

[Nela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid 4&1/2
I loved the main cast
The only main female character was a tad bit annoying, hence only 1/2 the last star, but the book was great

[Antoni Savander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tämä oli tyypillinen MacLeanin jännäri: paljon porukkaa, paljon salakähmäisiä murhia ja yksi sankari, joka kaikista vastoinkäymisistä huolimatta kykenee nousemaan voittoon. Nykypäivänä lähinnä moinen naurattaa, mutta kirjoitushetkellä tämä on ollut parasta mahdollista jännitysmeininkiä. Itse tykkään eniten MacLeanin kirjoissa niistä, joissa on sankariporukka. Yhden yli-inhimillisiin tekoihin jatkuvasti kykenevän sankarin tarinat tuntuvat liian mahdottomilta.

Hyvin MacLean nämä kyllä kirjoitti ja pakko antaa tunnustus kirjan suomentaneelle Aaro Vuoristolle. Hänen käännöksensä oli mitä mainioin, oli ilo lukea vanhaa kunnon kirjakieltä, joka ei kuitenkaan tuntunut liian tönköltä nykylukijan mieleen.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd book to read and is an odd book to review. On one hand, so much of it is unbelievable and downright stupid, I want to give it two stars. On the other hand, it's pretty action packed and is somewhat of a page turner. I couldn't put it down. So I'm not sure what to say.

An atom bomb is stolen from an American base. A British ship, however, is where the plot takes place. It's truly bizarre. It's a cargo ship, okay, but has also been converted into a luxury liner -- without the traditional luxuries. It's just got 12 luxurious rooms and good food, but no pools or dancing or gambling or ports of call or anything. It goes where the captain wants it to go; there's no itinerary. And there's a waiting list of kings and presidents trying to get aboard, willing to pay millions to do so. And yet they transport cargo. Simply stupid as hell.

Be that as it may, our hero, Carter, the first officer, helps run the ship. And he turns out to be nearly omniscient, omnipotent, has near super human powers and it's simply too unbelievable to make you feel like it's remotely real. Murders start occurring on the ship. Carter figures out what's going on. Pirates from a small third world government hijack it for the purpose of hijacking another ship carrying $150 million, as this country is broke and needs the money. Carter gets shot in the leg, while others get shot too. He's transported to the hospital bay, where he is treated -- and from where he escapes to save the day, in a manner that's altogether unbelievable, again. And again, he figures out exactly what's happening -- the pirates have the bomb and are going to blow the ship with its passengers and crew to pieces so there will be no witnesses to the piracy. So he disarms the atomic bomb. With the help of a gorgeous rich girl. Naturally. And when everything is over, he is surprised to hear that they are getting married in a month. She tells him so. Bizarre ending. It reminded me of a Doris Day, Rock Hudson movie ending. Of course, this book was published in 1962, so perhaps that makes sense.

Even though there's nothing remotely believable in this book, I actually enjoyed it. It was fun to read. It had a a lot of action. It had evil characters, good heroes, the pretty girl, guns -- everything. If only the author had put some more time into making it seem real. Oh well. I guess this book is somewhat recommended....

[Aloof Avocado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another naval thriller from Maclean. Possibly one of his best plots - the suspense really builds up in the first half of the novel. The second half is not half-bad, but I had to exercise my suspension of disbelief too often. The plot isn't as layered as some of his books, and I got the feeling that with a protagonist like Chief Officer Carter, the antagonists never had a chance.

Nonetheless, it serves it's purpose as quick, enjoyable filler between more serious reads admirably. Maybe I'm putting it up to too high a standard, with books like The Guns of Navarone and Night Without End. Or I might just have had too high an expectation - my teenage mind was enthralled by anything by Alistair Maclean. Believe it or not, I started with Partisans - generally considered to be one of his worst books, and I liked it so much, I went on to read all of his books. Those were some really good times, though.

[Adam Pilbeam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ought to be a classic. A high seas adventure, starring the capable First Officer Carter as he grapples with pirates with a dangerous agenda. The writing is immaculate, and I really think it is one of MacLean's best.

[John Pringle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Alistair MacLean novel with a boatload of admirable heroes and dastardly villains. None are more heroic than the ship’s chief officer, John Carter, who doggedly refuses to let fear get in his way, even when faced with seemingly impossible odds. I’m going to be deliberately vague here to avoid spoilers, but without doubt the best moment in the book is when a scientist explains to John the terrible danger facing them and the likely consequences should John attempt to tamper with a certain deadly, unstable device aboard the SS. Capari. John grimly takes it all in, but rather than acknowledge defeat, he promptly asks the scientist to give him a hand moving the device. That insanely heroic response seems almost laughable, yet you can’t help but admire his selfless determination. I think John Carter is one of MacLean’s finest characters and this one of his very best novels.

[Dhiraj Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best MacLean ever and my personal favourite. As with all MacLean Novels the plot is thrilling to the very end.
The hero is typical MacLean: tough, resourceful and gifted with a self-deprecating sense of humor.
Modern pirates day pirates running after gold bullion and a nuclear bomb take over a luxury liner and its upto the first mate (the protogonist) to outwit them in the dangerous game of cat and mouse.
The story grips you from the very first page and will keep you hooked till the the last.
Revealing too much of the plot won't be good on my part.
I suggest you buy and read this gem of a novel. I am sure this would be the best thriller you would ever come across in your life time.

[Shalini M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maclean was the one who made suspense thrillers the first of my favorite genres (and it is only in last few years that I started enjoying other genres more). However, in this one, he wasn't at his best. His protagonists are typically highly intelligent and resourceful, and the story line usually borders on believable. But the protagonist in this one is too super-human, and quite a few turns are either predictable or completely defy logic, to make the story quite unbelievable. But it is still edgy, and action-packed, and has dialogs with that sharp wit which I so love about Maclean. Despite its shortcomings, an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

[Coby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alastair MacLean is an author of the 20th century well known for action and suspense. Two of his best known classics, The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, are edge of your seat reads and both were made into edge of your seat movies. The Golden Rendezvous is not as good as Navarone of Eagles, but the story is still quite thrilling. Chief Officer John Carter of the SS Campari is not having a good day. Last minute passengers with coffins delay the departure of the Campari from Nassau. The abrupt disappearance of a crew member complicates the voyage
further when a stem-to-stern search discovers nothing and only increases the tension.