Dead Below Deck

Now Available from HarperCollins

When an heiress disappears from her superyacht and security footage shows her getting pushed, the main suspect has to prove her innocence in this thrilling mystery at sea told in reverse chronological order, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Genuine Fraud.

It was supposed to be the best-ever girls’ trip: five days, four friends, one luxury yacht, no parents. But on the final night, as the yacht cruised the deep and dark waters between Florida and Grand Cayman, eighteen-year-old heiress Giselle vanished. She’s nowhere to be found the next morning even after a frantic search, until security footage surfaces… showing Maggie pushing her overboard.

But Maggie has no memory of what happened. All she knows is that she woke up with a throbbing headache, thousands of dollars in cash in her safe, a passport that isn’t hers, and Giselle’s diary. And while Maggie had her own reasons to want Giselle dead, so did everyone else on board: jealous Viv, calculating Emi, even some members of the staff.

What really went down on the top deck that night? Maggie will have to work her way backward to uncover the secrets that everyone—even Giselle—kept below deck or she’s dead in the water.

Jan Gangsei crafts a compulsively readable tale of privilege, family, and identity wrapped in a wholly original mystery that will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the final twist.

Praise for Dead Below Deck

Publishers Lunch Notable New Release for November 2024
“As Maggie’s secrets are slowly revealed, readers realize how much the characters are hiding about their true identities. The final reveal is surprising yet well supported by details that appeared earlier in the story. The privileged lifestyles of the wealthy and the resulting friction that arises are a well-presented thematic undercurrent. An epic spring break cruise turns into an intriguing whodunit.”
Kirkus
“The novel moves backward through the days of the cruise as Giselle’s journal moves forward, with Maggie and the reader discovering the truth simultaneously. Maggie’s first-person, present-tense narration is engaging and sympathetic.”
Booklist

Dead Below Deck is twisty and thrilling! I read the whole thing on a single plane ride, desperately turning the pages. It’s also so much more than just a mystery—an examination of wealth and privilege, a critique of our social-media obsessed culture, and even a look at the aftermath of combat.”
—April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen and Stay Dead

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