On a Cold Dark Sea

THE TITANIC HAS SUNK!

These words reverberated around the world, and tore countless families apart. But for the people who were on the Titanic and survived it created a bond. Regardless of station in life, they had to pull together to save themselves, and then learn to cope with the guilt of surviving in the aftermath.

The story follows three passengers, Esme, Charlotte and Anna. Each one of these ladies have goals, dreams and secrets. Esme is cheating on her husband. Charlotte is pretending to be a married woman. Anna is secretly in love with Josef who is going to marry another.

Esme covers her affair by eventually marrying the man whom she pulled into the boat, leaving her husband to his fate aboard the sinking vessel. Time has not been kind her to her, and the excitement that she felt with the clandestine relationship quickly soured after a few years of marriage. Seeing the marriage through to the end, she discovers a secret strength within her, and of course, a friend who has always been there. While Sabine may have only started as her maid, she has been the one constant in the headstrong Esme's life.

Charlotte is a thief. She has fallen in love with the roguish Reg Evers, and is willing to follow him anywhere. But he has been hiding several secrets from her, and while she goes along with his plans, she is deeply hurt by his rejection of her affections. Styling herself Mrs. Evers aboard the vessel, she and Reg are travelling with a young English aristocrat who has been disowned by his family. The secrets that she carries from the Titanic that night will push her to new heights in creating her new identity, but they also eat away at her as the years go by. After she is contacted by a family looking for their son, she begins a search that will take her from England to America in search of answers, resolution and peace.

Anna survives, but has to live with the guilt of being separated from her two companions. She wants to search for them, but the rest of the people in the boat cannot understand her Swedish tongue. As she makes her way to Josef, she worries about what the future will hold, and what she will say to him when she arrives. He lost his brother and fiance in the sinking. But as they grow their lives together, she has one secret that she never shared with him....

As we watch the story of these three ladies unfold, and how the Titanic sinking affects them in the future, we see more than just people. We see their stories, their pain, and the growth that they must learn to accept as time moves forward.

Fantastic book! I loved the twists and turns, and the many layers that each person seemed to possess. Anna's story really struck me harder than the rest, and of course, the massive loss of life that was incurred during the sinking. Strength and determination are some of the major themes through this book, and I enjoyed watching many of the secrets play out and unfold upon the pages of this book!