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The entire time I was reading LINER, it gave me a LOST meets TITANIC vibe. There were so many strange things happening aboard the Oceanis—so many unbelievable things. I’m deathly afraid of the ocean so this horror book will probably give me nightmares!
There was a little bit of head-hopping here and there, but the plot kept me moving forward. It got better and better the more I read. The suspense and tension built right up until the end. This story has a very “locked-room” horror feel to it by way of characters experiencing terrifying incidents while trapped, but with the added layer of OMG since it’s aboard a ship in the middle of the Atlantic!
Descriptions were very detailed and specific. The way Coppel describes what’s happening and what things look like enabled me to envision them, despite occurrences being impossibly crazy.
David Easton, the main character, is smart but self-conscious. He’s made mistakes in his life and has some regrets, and thinks he knows how to solve it all but his decision to board the Oceanis changes all his plans. And the Oceanis has plans of its own. Things keep happening on board that baffle David, and then he meets Diana. They become almost like a Jack and Rose, with Diana’s mother trying (unsuccessfully) to prevent their involvement. But with more and more horrifying things happening on the ship, David and Diana find comfort in each other in what’s becoming the scariest time either of them has ever encountered..
I really enjoyed Diana’s character. She’s in control, direct, confident, strong-willed, and determined—I don’t think that was typical for women in the 60s, at least not as much as women are nowadays, which is why I like her all the more.
There is talk of suicide in the first 1/3 of the book, so I think that should be a trigger warning.
About the Book:
David Easton believed his life was in complete ruins. He managed to scrape together just enough money for a one-way ticket on the fabulous Oceanis. It was the most luxurious liner afloat and he planned to revel in all its opulent pleasures until in the middle of the Atlantic crossing – he would leap from the fantail, thus ending his pain and misery. The problem was that he never dreamt that while counting down the hours until his death, he would meet Diana.
Despite her traveling with her overly protective parents who hoped to introduce her to a suitable husband while onboard, they managed to find each other. As their affections grew, strange things began happening on the ship. At first, it was just mental images and dreams, but as the days passed their very reality began to bend beyond anything their minds could have imagined.
Together they had to find out what was happening to the Oceanis and how they could find a way to save the great liner and all those aboard her.
About the Author:
Chris Coppel was born in California and has since split his time between the USA and Europe, living in California, Spain, France, Switzerland and England. Chris taught advanced screenwriting at the UCLA film school and has been writing for over thirty years. As well as h this upcoming title, he is the author of Far From Burden Dell, Luck, The Lodge and Legacy.
He writes: “Hi Readers,
I was raised the son of a writer. My father wrote plays, films and novels. He was successful and suffered constant wanderlust. I was born in America when he was there writing Vertigo for Alfred Hitchcock.
I give that familial insight so that you can understand that I had the genes, I just needed to find my footing and get up the nerve to put pen to paper (or to be more accurate…open my laptop). Many would say that having a successful parent should make it easier to follow their path under the protective shadow of their parent’s success. Not so!
Writing is difficult. Writing in the hopes that you will be read and your works appreciated is terrifying. In my case, the fear of failure kept my ideas and stories buried in a back closet within my brain.
It is only now as I enter the latter part of my existence that I have been able to calm the fear and share my stories with those who may wish to read them.
I would like to think that it was my choice to write about things that go bump in the night, but it wasn’t. I had no idea that I would one day write tales of horror, but that is now what I do. With each new book, I feel drawn further into the dark void that we feel but rarely see.
I hope you will join me.”
You can learn more about Chris Coppel here. He can also be found on Twitter @ChrisCoppel.
Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours and Chris Coppel for the chance to read and review LINER!
Kathleen Foxx || Author || Editor || Podcast Host 