Kitty Horror

Captain Abner Marsh has been beset with misfortune after misfortune and is now struggling to keep his steamboat company together, that is until he meets the mysterious Joshua York. Mr York proposes to become a partner, putting much needed money into the company, allowing them to build the most beautiful steamboat on the Mississippi river, the Fevre Dream. He has certain stipulations of his own, some of which are bizarre but Captain Marsh can't resist the chance to once again have some standing on the river and turn his bad run of luck around.

York has his own reasons for wanting to travel down the river and it's one that will put both him and Abner in considerable danger as Joshua's true nature is revealed.

Simply put, I loved this book. It was one of those that I wanted to savour and not rush ahead with. The writing draws you in from the start; the beautiful prose, wonderful characterisation and layers of detail all worked their magic on me and I got sucked in completely to the brutal world that Martin has created.

Character wise it was Abner Marsh that I rooted for; an ugly, overweight man whose best years are behind him, in no way is he some knight in shining armour ready to save the day but he shows himself again and again to be a true friend, brave and committed to doing what he thinks is right. Whilst I liked Joshua, I found him quite frustrating at times and wished he'd had more backbone.

At the end of this book I felt as though I had lost something, the end of my adventure with Abner and it was a bittersweet feeling to finish the last page. I think Captain Marsh will not be easily forgotten.

Highly Recommended.