Bear Island
Published 2026-07-28 13:43:22
Book info
- Author
- Year 1971
- Genre Thriller
- Format Audiobook
- Pages 464
A converted fishing trawler, Morning Rose carries a movie-making crew across the Barents Sea to isolated Bear Island, well above the Arctic Circle, for some on-location filming, but the script is a secret known only to the producer and screenwriter.
En route, members of the movie crew and ship's company begin to die under mysterious circumstances. The crew's doctor, Marlowe, finds himself enmeshed in a violent, multi-layered plot in which very few of the persons aboard are whom they claim to be.
Marlowe's efforts to unravel the plot become even more complicated once the movie crew is deposited ashore on Bear Island, beyond the reach of the law or outside help. The murders continue ashore, and Marlowe, who is not what he seems to be either, discovers they may be related to some forgotten events of the Second World War.
Thoughts
I've read a couple of Alistair MacLean books before and enjoyed them, his thrillers are usually quite reliable. This one had a submarine on the cover, too, and I love them so it seemed an obvious pick.
Unfortunately, I just found this book impossible to get into. I got about 40% into it and it was so slow-paced right from the beginning. There were a lot of characters, all packed in close quarters on a boat, and none of them felt distinctive enough to latch on to or want to follow any further. Plus, they all spent the first third of the book being seasick, constantly, which isn't thrilling reading.
When they reached the island, things did start to pick up a little. But I'd seen other reviews that complained about the lack of pace in this book so by then my patience had run out.
It felt like there were the beginnings of a mystery that could get interesting, so if you can keep this kind of ensemble cast in your head as you're reading and cope with the slow, methodical pace, you'll have more success than I did.
I've not been put off reading more MacLean books in future though, just confirmed that this one wasn't for me.
DNF
Rating: Unrated
