The Blue

At the start of this intriguing tale of nautical misadventure from Clarke (Swimming at Night), Lana Lowe, an Englishwoman who has resided in New Zealand for eight months, anxiously awaits word of The Blue, a 50-ft. yacht that has sunk far off the north New Zealand coast. In particular, she worries that Kitty Berry, her dear friend from England, might have been aboard. In flashbacks, we learn how the two women came to join the crew in the Philippines. At first, the voyage is almost idyllic, but on The Blue “everyone’s emotions and opinions collided... building enough energy and motion to create an explosion.” Relationships form and falter, and tensions flare with fatal results. Lana eventually leaves the boat and Kitty. As Lana learns the fate of the crew members, she also learns startling facts about them. Clarke handles the joys, challenges, and chores of sailing with easy confidence and does just as fine a job with her misfit crew and their easily upset equilibrium. Agent: Judith Murray, Greene & Heaton Literary Agency. (Aug.)