Taking the Titanic by James Patterson

Bookshots are a creation of James Patterson – they are thrillers that can be read in just a few hours time, and each book is under one hundred and fifty pages. I found out about them while doing some shelf reading at work; the thin paperbacks stood out among Patterson’s other novels, all much longer, and I was intrigued. Most of these bookshots are companion stories to some of his other series, which is why I chose 113 Minutes and Taking the Titanic because they are standalone stories.

Taking the Titanic

When will we ever not be reading stories about the Titanic? Even though we always know how these stories are going to end, readers can’t seem to get enough of both fictional and nonfictional stories about this event. I think it is because there were so many people aboard the ship whose lives will always remain a mystery to us – all we have left to do is imagine their stories and that in and of itself makes the opportunity for books written on the subject to be limitless.

Taking the Titanic centers on Nigel and Celia Bowen, two thieves posing as a married couple who manage to board the ship and plan to rob all of the wealthy passengers. They manage to work their way in with a group traveling in first class and start the heist, even “losing” one of Celia’s own pieces of jewelry to make it look like they are also victims. Both Celia and Nigel are professionals at this, and experts at acting their way through sticky situations. But one of the passengers recognizes Celia from a newspaper mugshot, and demands money from her in order to keep her secret.

Meanwhile, Celia’s past is catching up with her as it is discovered that her former partner is also aboard the ship. He is seeking Celia out for revenge for flaking on him during their last heist, and he intends to carry it out with or without her help. Both Celia and Nigel start to feel guilty for their constant lying and theft, and especially by the kindness and financial support they receive from an acquaintance who is none the wiser to their true identities.

When the fateful day comes on April 15th, Celia and Nigel are racing against the sinking ship to right their wrongs and possibly sacrifice themselves in the process of doing so. I was intrigued by the many twists to this story. Almost every chapter introduced a new layer to Celia and Nigel’s predicament, all while revealing more about their characters. I think most people will be appreciative of the ending because I know that I was.

I’ll have to browse around for more bookshots to read because I really did enjoy these two short thrillers. If you have any recommendations, please comment below!