I love true crime, especially when it reads like fiction. I wasn’t familiar with the event described in Dead In The Water by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel, but the subtitle grabbed me: A True Story pf Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy.

I didn’t realize how totally ignorant I was about international shipping, insurance, and the Middle East until I got into this book. It is equal parts “Captain Phillips” (Tom Hanks movie) and “The Wire” Season 2, and the writing is great.

The story involves the 2011 incident involving the oil tanker Brillante Virtuoso,  which was attacked by pirates and set on fire. David Mockett, a working for Lloyd’s of London, inspected the ship, and wondered he was left with more questions than answers. How the pirates had managed to board the ship so easily? And if their goal was to hold the ship ransom, why did they destroy it? Mockett was murdered shortly after his inspection, and the book is a detailed exploration of the trifecta of crimes: insurance fraud, murder, and piracy. I loved it.

I received a copy of Dead In The Water from Penguin Group Portfolio and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.  Fans of books like Bad Blood and The Big Short will appreciate, as well as true crime fans. Five stars (while I agreed with the negative comments about the formatting issues with the ebook, I can’t blame the authors’ work or lower my rating based on that).