Story for the Week
October 26 launched our new book club! Okay, it’s more a revamp of our Saturday library days, but we are definitely calling it book club.
I have written before about taking Corinne to the library when she was young. When I was a kid, my mom took us to the library all the time, and I wanted to share that experience with Corinne. What started as Corinne and me turned into Corinne, me, and Aly. We added Aly’s brother, then the girl next door, then the other girl next door. We would stop on the way for drinks from the gas station, and we would read at the library.
I loved those weekend outings, and Aly and I talk about how much we miss those times that we would just sit quietly and read together. So recently, Aly suggested that we start spending each Monday evening together just reading our respective books. It would be our own little book club.
For the first week, she suggested we meet at a local pub to try their new fall drink menu. We both brought our Kindles, but I was pretty sure that we wouldn’t get a lot of reading done. Corinne and Aly had just spent an evening together, but I haven’t spent time with her in a little while. We spent the entire evening just catching up. 🍻
The next week, we actually did read. I cooked dinner, and Corinne, Aly, and I chatted while we ate. Then I turned on the fireplace, asked Alexa to play some background music, and we read for the next couple of hours. It was quiet and relaxed and amazing.
When I mentioned our plans to Jakub, he seemed intrigued and asked if he could join us. He said he’s not a reader, but he is trying to find new interests and thought he would enjoy our little group. Aly, of course, said the more the merrier.
Then Jakub suggested that we could read the same book if he could get something at the library. I will do everything in my power to encourage reading…always. The vast majority of books I read are advance copies, so Jakub wouldn’t be able to get them at the library. But I am a true Kindle girly and happen to have a couple extras laying around, so I reconnected one of them to my Amazon account for Jakub.
No One Aboard is our first official book club read. He dove right in and even sent me a picture of the notes he started taking that evening. The further I got into the book, I discovered I enjoy having someone else reading the same book. Whether he can keep up remains to be seen 😉, but I’m going to have an awful lot of fun while we find out.
So back to the original question…do we need a name? 🤔 Suggestions welcomed. 🤭
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 Stars for No One Aboard by Emy McGuire
362 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House
Publication Date: December 2, 2025
I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House.
Publisher’s Description
At the start of summer, billionaire couple Francis and Lila Cameron set off on their private luxury sailboat to celebrate the high school graduation of their two beloved children.
Three weeks later, the Camerons have not been heard from, the captain hasn’t responded to radio calls, and the sailboat is found floating off the coast of Florida.
Empty.
Where are the Camerons? What happened on their trip? And what secrets does the beautiful boat hold?
************
Main Characters:
- Jerry Baugh – deep sea fisherman who lives on his Dyer 29 lobster boat, lives off a settlement from his brother Steve’s drowning death decades before
- Francis Cameron – CEO of Unwind Yachting Co., self-made businessman, grew up poor and learned about boats by working on them as a young man
- Lila Logan Cameron – well-known television actress who has spent her entire life in the limelight, married to Francis, focused on auditions and events she has planned to re-energize her career
- Rylan Cameron – 17-year-old son of Francis and Lila, on the verge of his 18th birthday, just graduated from high school, planning to attend Pepperdine with his sister even though he was accepted into five of six schools where he applied
- Tia Cameron – 17-year old daughter of Francis and Lila, on the verge of her 18th birthday, just graduated from high school, Pepperdine is the only college where she was accepted
- Alejandro Matamoros – Francis’s best friend and long-time crew member, also serves as the chef on the yacht
- MJ Tuckett – first hired 10 years before as a diving instructor for twins Rylan and Tia, Francis’s first mate which excited the twins since they hadn’t seen her for a couple of years
- Nico de la Vega – Alejandro’s nephew, joined the group to replace another crew member
Talk about a story full of secrets and lies…wow! This fantastic debut by Emy McGuire will keep you turning pages well into the hours when you should be sleeping.
As the story begins, fisherman Jerry Baugh discovers a “ghost ship” off the coast of Florida. The Old Eileen, a luxury yacht owned by billionaire Francis Cameron, almost rams into Jerry’s boat. Jerry sounds a horn to warn the captain with no response. Tempted to mind his own business and head home, he reminds himself that he would trade everything if someone had helped his brother Steve decades ago when Steve ended up lost at sea.
When Jerry discovers the yacht is empty but the radio cord has been cut, he calls the authorities. An investigation begins to find the crew and passengers, and the police tell Jerry that the yacht will be his based on maritime law if unclaimed after 30 days.
Jerry’s chapters, focused on the investigation and his time spent lounging on the docked yacht, are interspersed with chapters that detail articles past and present about the Cameron family. The articles provide some interesting insights into the history of the Camerons.
The majority of the chapters, however, alternate between Lila, Rylan, and Tia beginning the day before the family departed on their trip from Connecticut to Florida. These chapters continually escalate the story as the trip progresses. And about halfway through…. Let’s just say that I didn’t want to stop reading once I reached the halfway point. The author drops twist after twist, surprise after surprise, and they made for a great thriller.
When I read a book like this one, I won’t give away anything in the review. No spoilers here. Pick this one up. You will not regret it. I’ll be reading Emy McGuire again.
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