If you hope to find a solution to the mystery of the "ghost ship" the Mary Celeste...remember this is a novel, not non-fiction. The ride is also propelled by a few sub-plots; one involves a spiritualist and a journalist...two women on opposite ends of belief in the supernatural, and guest star Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who enjoys a good mystery even if it doesn't involve Sherlock Holmes.
The subject of various non-fiction books and movies, the Mary Celeste was found under extremely spooky circumstances...completely intact except for the crew. The cargo was secure, there was food and water...but where was everyone? It didn't look like a storm had tossed them all overboard. So why had they abandoned ship?
Martin, author of the best-selling "Mary Reilly," has put together a vivid tome here, although the reader is often left to wonder "is this fact or is this fiction" here and there. The factual aspects...describing the actual circumstances of the ship's journey and the bizarre discovery, work a bit better than the fictional mix that involves the popularity of spiritualism at the time and the inclusion of Sir Arthur (which will help bring in thousands of Holmes devotees).
With no way to really, accurately explain the mystery of the Mary Celeste, the author spends equal time on how the baffling case affects both mystery fans (such as the creator of Sherlock Holmes) and the bereaved who hope to contact the beyond. Valerie Martin seems to have walked her tightrope based on a line she gives to the creator of Sherlock Holmes: "The public, he knew, demanded a strong plot, adventures at sea went well, also ghosts and mysteries of all kinds. Why not put them all together?”
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