The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

 

Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. In this novel about hard choices and survival, she is also on trial for her life.

In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying her and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize is over capacity. For any to live, some must die.

As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she'd found.

The story is told from her point of view, and the motives of others always seem to be suspect.  But since we are never really told the story from any other angle, perhaps we should be leery of Grace's motives as well.  The point of the whole story is that nothing is as it seems.  Alliances form, motives are not always discernible, exposure and deprivation take their toll.  The book grapples with difficult issues.  When, if ever, is it appropriate to commit an evil act to save others? When is inaction as great an evil as violent action? And lastly, how would you behave under similar circumstances?

An interesting read.