Glass Ocean / Beatrix Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White / 403 pages

The back story of this book is the sinking of the passenger liner Lusitania during World War I.  It takes place in two time periods, in the present 2013 and in the past 1915.  Each author develops a different main female character.  Sarah Blake is an author researching a book on the sinking of the Lusitania.  Her great-grandfather was part of the crew on the ship.  Her research takes her to England.  Caroline Hochstetter is a southern belle married to a wealthy industrialist.  She and her husband on sailing to England on the Lusitania.  Tess Fairweather is traveling second class on the Lusitania to return to her family in England.  However, her real name is Tennessee Schaff and she is partnering up with her sister for one last heist.  I enjoyed following each character and seeing their lives piece together to tell the story.  I loved the historical backdrop of the Lusitania.

The Glass Ocean/Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White/403 pgs

A story that brings history and the present together as descendants of crew and passengers attempt to sort out the account of the historic voyage of the Lusitania.  In this fictional tale, family members in the present search for answers to what may have happened on the Lusitania before it was hit by a German U-boat in 1915.  The present day main characters have letters, journals, and personal papers that belonged to their relatives.  Together, they search to discover; were there plans for a dangerous weapon being carried on the ship that the Germans wanted out of the hands of the British?  And were there spies trying desperately to acquire those plans?  A good read that you don't want to miss if you love historical fiction.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania/ Erik Larson/ 430 pages

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is the latest nonfiction work by author Erik Larson.  In Dead Wake, Larson introduces the reader to several surviving passengers and crew members of the doomed Lusitania, as well as the German U-Boat captain who ordered the firing of the torpedo.  Along the way the reader learns of the anguish of President Wilson with the death of his wife, Ellen, and the turmoil of his courtship with Edith Galt.  Both prove to be a distraction to Wilson with regards to the war in Europe.  The book is well written and makes for an interesting read.  The reader cannot help but feel emotions, if only the ship had sailed faster, if only it had left port sooner.  I found the book particularly interesting given that my husband's Great-grandmother was aboard the Lusitania when the torpedo was fired.  She died shortly after being brought ashore.   For further information and books about the Lusitania see the SCCCLD website.  Also, see more books written by Erik Larson.