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Product Description

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Michael Robotham’s first literary successes were not in the thriller field. The autobiographies of such celebs as Ricky Tomlinson and Geri Halliwell would be rendered in considerably less impressive English if Robotham had not been the ghost-writing conduit for these non-writers. He spent time with these personalities, absorbing their stories and converted them into books that showcased sometimes very slender talents in the best possible light.

As one of publishing world’s most acclaimed ghost writers, Michael Robotham could have continued to make a comfortable living, but (fortunately for we crime fans) he turned to the field of the psychological thriller, and with some sharply written and assured novels, he has moulded a career as a crime novelist of real accomplishment – all the while doing this under his own name. The Night Ferry is possibly Robotham’s most striking novel yet, recapturing the adrenalin rush of his first novel, The Suspect. Here, DCI Alisha Barber agrees to attend a school reunion, even though she knows such occasions are often grisly ones. Alisha has received a letter from someone she hasn’t heard from in quite a while, Cate Beaumont, asking for help. Cate is pregnant and in danger – and before the two women can talk, she is hit by a speeding car (which also kills her husband). Alisha is there as she dies – and learns the pregnancy is a fake. But why the deception – and the death? With the help of an ex-associate, DI Vincent Ruiz, Alisha soon finds herself investigating a dark world of slavery and sexual trafficking.

It’s possible that Michael Robotham might be tempted back into ghost-writing, but aficionados of strong and acerbic thrillers will hope that he isn’t. --Barry Forshaw

Synopsis
Alisha Barba's dreams of being a detective were shattered when a murder suspect broke her back across a brick wall. Now on her feet again, with her police career in limbo, she receives a message from an old school friend, Cate Beaumont, who is eight months pregnant and in trouble. On the night they arrange to meet, Cate is mown down by a car that kills her husband instantly. As paramedics fight to save her life they discover there is no baby. Her pregnancy is an elaborate lie, a cruel deception. Why? What happened? As Alisha sets out to answer these questions she is drawn deeper and deeper into a dangerous quest that will take her from the East End of London to Amsterdam's red light district and into a murkey underworld of sex trafficking, slavery and exploitation. A gripping thriller, with twists at every turn, The Night Ferry is Michael Robotham's finest novel yet.

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another fine thriller from Robotham, 16 Oct 2006

By	N. Megahey (Belfast, N Ireland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Night Ferry (Hardcover)

Recovered from her life-threatening accident in `Lost/The Drowning Man', Alisha Barba is the police detective at the centre of Robotham's latest crime thriller, trying to uncover the truth surrounding the death of an old school friend Cate Beaumont, a pregnant woman accidentally run down by a taxi on the street right in front of her eyes. The circumstances of her death, coming immediately after Cate had contacted Alisha looking for help, and the discovery that the pregnancy was faked, take the Sikh PC to Amsterdam on the trail of the illegal trade in babies. Along the way, Alisha enlists the services of the now retired Detective Inspector Ruiz and `New Boy' Dave, and gets mixed up in a murky world of former IRA killers and people trafficking.

Despite the use of familiar characters, no former knowledge of Robotham's previous novels is required here to enjoy the breakneck pace and fluid readability of his writing. As with Robotham's other thrillers, you have to put aside the unlikely ease with which a maverick police officer is able to act well outside their official capacity and jurisdiction in the undertaking a private investigation, but there are few authors who can create a confrontation with ruthless and violent criminals with such precision and such a real sense of danger that you cannot be certain that the good guys will come out of it unscathed - and often they don't.

Like Inspector Ruiz's gypsy connections, Barba's Sikh heritage and the international connections of the case give the investigation a colourful flavour and character. Her own situation after her accident in the previous novel gives the nature of the storyline a more personal investment, so you know what exactly is at stake here, even if the circumstances are just a little too convenient. But Robotham's real achievement here is in blurring the moral lines between the intentions of the criminals and their actions, between the need for justice and protecting the innocent, giving the reader something much more serious to consider than the standard police thriller.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, in my view...., 4 May 2008

By	johnverp (Budapest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Night Ferry (Paperback)

I am not sure how my co-reviewer could rank this with a lowly one star rating. I found this book to be enjoyable, full of pace and with a pretty sound plot which involves moral issues. The writing is stylish and has good injections of humour and some clever thinking.

The story revolves around an Anglo-Asian policewoman (Alisha) who tries to unravel what happened to a long-lost friend, who came to her while pregnant before being hit by a car.

Ruiz, the now retired detective from prior Robotham novels, makes a cameo appearance as a friend and helper to Alisha.

Yes, you can find criticisms - for example, why does Alisha continue to dig when she is already in trouble with her bosses and has been ordered to stop her ongoing inquiries on the case which she has not been assigned to?

Overall, however, I found the book to be both interesting and well-written. 9/10

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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Murder and Mayhem Bookclub review, 16 May 2007

By	A. J Thompson "voyagersaus" (Western Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Night Ferry (Hardcover)

Cate Beaumont had been prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to have a baby. All those who knew Cate had underestimated her determination and of how fierce that maternal desire was within her, right up until her death. Struck down by a passing taxi outside of her own school reunion, Cate's biggest secret is revealed to the world.

Cate Beaumont was once Cate Elliott, best friend of Alisha Barba. Eight years have passed since the two were as close as school girls can be, carrying willingly all the associated weight of each other's dark secrets and wishes. Despite the passage of time, Alisha can't reconcile that the girl from her past who always spoke her mind became someone who managed to fool family and friends into believing that she was carrying a baby. Eight months was a long time to keep up a convincing pretence, and there doesn't appear to be anyone that Cate may have confided in as to why she found it necessary to do such a thing.

Recovering from a broken back received while chasing a suspect, Alisha Barba was more or less expecting to be delivered some kind of career side-lining, but hopefully nothing that would completely take her from the path leading to Detective status. It's one thing to convince her doctors that she is fine, quite another to convince her employers of the same. Witnessing the terrible accident that kills Cate husband immediately, and later, Cate herself, Alisha is given more then she'll ever need to distract her from the unravelling of her career, and from her fading personal life. Unable to turn her back on the friend who had reached out for help, Alisha calls upon her former boss and mentor Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz to backtrack the whole mess to its inception. Alisha discovers that there's more than one way to have a baby when you have the money to make it all happen for you. There are always those ready to prey on the vulnerable, and so Alisha must dive into the chilling world of people smuggling. Willing to do anything in their desperation to leave their troubled homelands, the displaced are open to terrible exploitation. When a truck of dead illegal refugees is discovered in an English dock, Alisha accepts that it will go far beyond her own need to find answers. Everything else in Alisha's life now must wait.

Michael Robotham has again taken a secondary character from his last novel, here writing Alisha Barba who previously appeared in LOST (2005) into THE NIGHT FERRY. This has created three works to be regarded as stand-alones, with some familiar faces included for those who have read both of these plus THE SUSPECT (2004).

Alisha Barba has been given a unique voice which always manages to ring true. So carefully and meticulously has this young woman been crafted that not for a second does the reader doubt that this is indeed Alisha Barba that we are hearing. It takes a certain amount of fortitude to make it through to the conclusion of THE NIGHT FERRY, and this is certainly not a reference to length or any possible arduousness of the task; this read will well and truly put you through the emotional wringer and spit you out the other side. Everything about this novel digs deep; terrible survival choices, the scant disregard for innocent life shown by people traffickers, the super-human lengths a mother is prepared to go to for her loved ones. It is impossible not to be moved by the plight of all concerned in this terrible and beautiful novel that will stay in your thoughts for a very long time.

THE NIGHT FERRY has been marketed as a thriller and rightly so as it is one heck of a rush from start to finish, definitely falling into the keep-you-up-all-night category. Where it differs from other thrillers is the emotional content. We are not talking agonized female narrative here, or blatant attempts to shock with the portrayed abuse of innocents. Robotham's style is rather more economical in presentation which does much to strip away any idea of the author making a pointed social comment in his work. It will depend on the outlook of the individual as to how deeply they are deeply affected by the plight of the refugees. It will also remain with the reader to make judgement on the choices the individuals make in the novel for both survival and retribution.

One reviewer's recommendation in summary here, move this book to the top of your reading pile as it cannot fail to be your stand-out read of the year.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and thought provoking
I was not sure about buying this book,as I am fed up with the insipid psychologist who is the main protagonist in his other books like Shatter. Read more

Published 4 months ago by C.Elder

3.0 out of 5 stars Kitchen Sink Included?
Although I quite enjoyed this book, it did feel like the writer threw everything bar the kitchen sink into the story - in fact, I'm sure if you look hard enough you will find it... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Charlie_Crocker

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother. Re-read his "Shatter"
The plot is far too complicated, the heroine unsympathetic, there's too much gratuitous violence, and some of the writing sub-Mills and Boon. Read more

Published 15 months ago by J. C. Stott

4.0 out of 5 stars Great
I picked up this book as it was on special offer. I'd never heard of the author or read any of his books but I certainly will now. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Kixxy

3.0 out of 5 stars Found it a tiring read
I do usually love Michael Robotham's books, however, to be totally honest I think this was probably his worst - for me anyway. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Kirsty

4.0 out of 5 stars good quick read
I actually really liked this book, and it grabbed me from the get-go. You get drawn into the personal life of the main character Alisha from the outset & build-up of intriuge... Read more

Published 19 months ago by V. Packham

5.0 out of 5 stars A REAL HEART-IN-THE-MOUTHER!
This book is more than just a thumping good read. It's a devastatingly good read. Like all the great thrillers, Night Ferry is a mind-altering assault on the senses that kicks... Read more

Published on 7 May 2007 by Admiral6004

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	14% buy The Suspect 4.9 out of 5 stars (22) �5.49
	12% buy The Drowning Man 4.5 out of 5 stars (10) �5.99
	12% buy Shatter 4.6 out of 5 stars (13) �4.89