Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Did she leave or was she taken?



The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before.

To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...



Wow, what can I say about this book? I was hooked from the first chapter, this is the type of book you think, oh it's ok I can dip in and out of it but no, I didn't want to put the book down. When I had to put it down I spent all my time not reading it, thinking about it! It has been a long time since this has happened when reading a book.

Adam and Sarah have been together for 10 years, Sarah, the bread winner has been supporting Adam while he has been writing a play, he is a screenwriter and waiting for his big break. Sarah heads off to Barcelona for work, but while she is only way for about 5 days, Adam starts to question their relationship, prompted by Rose - Sarah's best friend. Suddenly Sarah's parents can't get in contact with her and she isn't answering her phone. Adam starts to question everything, especially when she doesn't appear at the airport after her flight.

There were different parts to this story with different peoples points of view, it switched from the past and into the present. Although for a long while I couldn't understand how the two were connected, this didn't bother me as I was enjoying every part of the book. Distress Signals was a face paced novel that really drew me in, I raced through the story and although I did guess I think quiet early on, this didn't matter and I was surprised by the ending. To be honest I am not sure how I felt about the ending, I think I would have liked a little more... but it was a surprise and unexpected, which I did like.

This was a brilliant read, one that got me out of my reading slump and perfect for fans of crime and thriller. This was a very cleverly written book and an excellent start into writing, I couldn't believe this was a debut! Howard has set the standard now and if all her books are as good as this I think she would fast become one of my favourite authors.

This is a gripping book, I don't want to give too much away in the plot as this is a book you have to read. You will race through it as you need to know the truth, I am so glad I read this and I would recommend it to anyone who loves crime and thrillers. I really cannot do this book justice, you just have to grab a copy.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.