This is a book that you won’t be able to put down. From the very first page, you’ll be drawn into a mysterious and intriguing situation.A luxury yacht with celebrities and dignitaries aboard explodes and sinks off the coast of Cape Verde. Nine survivors find themselves adrift in a lifeboat with no rescue ships in sight. They pull a man from the water who doesn’t have a scratch on him! The mystified passengers say to him, “Thank the Lord we found you!” But the man replies, “I am the Lord”. Thus begins a captivating story narrated by the main character, Benji, who faithfully records all the events in a notebook for his wife in case he doesn’t survive.
Jumping ahead in time to the Island of Montserrat, Chief Inspector Jarty LaFleur is told by a mysterious man that a lifeboat has washed ashore on a deserted part of the beach. When LaFleur inspects the boat, it is indeed from the missing yacht and inside the lifeboat he discovers a notebook recounting the story of the passengers. “The Stranger in the Lifeboat” is told from three perspectives: 1) the lifeboat passengers; 2) Chief Inspector LaFleur; and 3) the media. In true Mitch Albom style, the writing is simplistic and easily draws the reader into the characters’ lives. The conclusion is unexpected but very inspirational.
“The Stranger in the Lifeboat” is available at the Huron County Library.