DEAD ON THE WIND
Dead on the Wind sends its readers into a fast-moving and suspenseful world of water where giant waves and wild, threatening storms are just the tip of the iceberg.--Sails
This ad appears in various boating and sailing magazines including Small Craft Advisor magazine.
"The dangerous, fascinating world of long distance, singlehanded yacht racing is full of remarkable characters and daring feats, making it an especially intriguing setting for a high seas whodunit. Marlin Bree knows this arena well, and his well crafted tale of mystery and adventure makes for gripping reading."
--Herb McCormick, Cruising World
Beyond 40 degrees south,
there is no law.
Below 50,
there is no god.
High-tech racing thriller "This debut novel by award-winning writer Marlin Bree starts out fast-paced and sweeps you into the action of a race that seems to be star-crossed from the beginning. ..When more boats go missing, the intrigue mounts and the action never stops. Warning: Do not start this book in the evening if you have to work the next day." Dave Osmolski, The Ensign
"A nautical thriller, Marlin Bree's latest novel tells the story of a struggling boating writer, Kevlin, who is investigating the truth behind some missing boats in an around-the-world sailboat race. The more he discovers, the darker and more intriguing the story becomes, until Kevlin eventually becomes entangled in solving a deadly threat -- or the worst could happen. Dead on the Wind sends its readers into a fast-moving and suspenseful world of water where giant waves and wild, threatening storms are just the tip of the iceberg. --Sailing
"Bree, New & Hot Author, small-craft sailor and marine journalist Marlin Bree uses his experience to create a maritime whodunit. With an around-the-world race in the background, journalist Kevlin Star investigates the disappearance of a lone sailor in the Tasman Sea. As the sailors in the race make their way from New York to Cape Town, Star appears to pick up the trail of an unknown killer targeting the sailors."--The Nautical Mind, Canada
"Marlin Bree's debut novel packs all the adventure of his award-wining nonfiction with enough twists and turns to keep you reading through the night. Dead on the Wind deserves a spot on every boater's reading list." -- Yvonne Hill, The Ensign
If you enjoy sailing and techno-thrillers, Dead on the Wind will keep you glued to your reading chair."
-- Good Old Boat
Dead on the Wind: A new novel from award-winning nautical journalist Marlin Bree. 240 pages / 6 x 9 format/ Quality trade paperback, $14.99 retail. Also available in most popular e-book formats including Kindle and Nook for only $4.99 retail.
Praise for Dead on the Wind
"A singlehanded race around the world by competitors aboard 60-foot open-class sloops sets the stage for this great page-turner. One of the sailors goes missing during a storm in the Tasman Sea and it triggers headlines. Fans of the Vendee Globe will see traces of the real-life event that inspired this prolific nautical nonfiction author to produce his first novel. Bree, who was a member of the committee that attempted to locate the celebrated singlehander Mike Plant after he vanished...succeeds in producing a well-crafted tale of mystery and adventure." --- Rick Martell in Cruising World
"The dangerous, fascinating world of long distance, singlehanded yacht racing is full of remarkable characters and daring feats, making it an especially intriguing setting for a high seas whodunit. Marlin Bree knows this arena well, and his well crafted tale of mystery and adventure makes for gripping reading."
--Herb McCormick, Cruising World
* * *
"Marlin Bree's debut novel packs all the adventure of his award-wining nonfiction with enough twists and turns to keep you reading through the night. Dead on the Wind deserves a spot on every boater's reading list." -- Yvonne Hill, The Ensign
* * *
"This nautical thriller is a harrowing tale onboard racing sailboats...The story explodes with suspense and intrigue and catapults the reader into the world of ocean racing, storms at sea and giant waves aboard racing sailboats." -- Sails
* * *
"One of my favorite cautionary sea stories comes from Marlin Bree's Wake of the Green Storm. Author of five nonfiction books about sailing, Dead on the Wind is his first novel, a thriller set in the world of high-tech yacht racing.
The Race Alone Around the World (RAAW), based on the Vendee Globe race, involves boats using the most cutting edge designs, piloted by skilled sailors determined to circumnavigate singlehanded on boats so big that one person can just barely handle them. The boats are made of the most advanced materials, primarily carbon fiber reinforced epoxy plastic.
But things begin to go mysteriously wrong. The Australian entry, Marci Whitman, sails her sled out of Sydney Harbour on a shakedown cruise — and does not return. Kevlin Star, her former lover and writer for Megasail magazine, dashes Down Under ostensibly to get the story but actually to assist in the search. There he meets Tremain Whitman, Marci's grandfather and the designer of her boat, and Trudance, Whitman's granddaughter and Marci's sister.
Despite the mysterious tragedy, the race preparations continue, and soon the race starts from New York Harbor. This section of the story, describing the racers from different countries and their plans to make the most of the advantages of their disparate boats, is the most interesting part of the book. There is lots of heeled over, lee rail under, wave-smashing sailing here, which does not last nearly long enough. More boats suffer mysterious casualties, other sailors are lost, and Kevlin is kept running from one side of the planet to the other covering the race and uncovering how the boats are being sabotaged and who is behind the plot.
Marlin's clipped writing style keeps the story moving right along. Kevlin spends a lot of time waist deep (and more) in the icy cold waters of various oceans as the nicely plotted story keeps him in the middle of the action, until he singlehandedly saves a major harbor and identifies the bad guys.
If you enjoy sailing and techno-thrillers, Dead on the Wind will keep you glued to your reading chair." -- Chas. Hague, Good Old Boat newsletter
A Book for Anyone Who Loves an Interesting and Different Mystery
"An excellent read --a unique mystery -- especially interesting to boat lovers, but it is for everyone. Sweet and sentimental, dangerous and scary, vivid descriptions -- and a great ending. You will love it, too!" ---Judy Swanholm.
A fun read. Perfect for reading in a hammock on a summer day!
OK, I'm not a sailor and only own a canoe, but Bree's depth of knowledge of the sea and its ways, along with his breezy style of writing, make it seem like I could be missing out on something significant in terms of experience, both physical and cerebral. This book is international in scope, yet intimate in personal insights The pacing of this saga is relentless. Virtually every chapter ends with a classic cliff-hanger. Greatly reminds me of the old Saturday afternoon matinee movies where the hero very nearly gets totally obliterated, only to be saved at the last second. If you remember those days, and yes I am of a certain age, then this will bring back that "HolyMoly" how did he ever get out of that one kind of feeling. Just a fun read, perfect for reading in a hammock on a summer day!-- Mike Zerby
Bree's 'Dead on the Wind' is a rare find
"This is simply a great read that will really get your blood pumping. Intrigue, shady characters in smoke-filled waterfront bars and multi-million dollar yachts criss-crossing the world's oceans. And with a sinister twist that will chill you to the bone. I couldn't put this book down. It's that good." ---Gerard Salmon
(Warning) You won't want to put it down!
"Why do we read fiction? We want to be entertained, live vicariously through well-constructed characters, flex our own artistic notions by painting scenes in our heads inspired by the well-crafted words of the author. Marlin Bree never disappoints! In his previous nonfiction sailing adventures, Wake of the Green Storm and Broken Seas, we are transported into the story, into the experience. In his first novel Dead on the Wind, Marlin Bree may have written fiction, but his words are drawn from personal experience, research and a deep understanding of the nature of sailors and the draw of the sea. This page turner reads like a Hollywood movie. There are twists, turns, surprises and tension and the opportunity to create the full-blown drama on that canvas in your head. Enjoy!" ---Kathy Roach
A Five Star Read!
"While in tropical climes, it is said, that the bowsprit gets snarkishly mixed up with the rudder sometimes, readers will find as the plot of Dead on the Wind develops Marlin Bree effortlessly explains sailing terminology. For boaters and non-boaters alike the author's debut mystery presents the excitement of an ocean race down under. Well developed characters and a vivid setting show Bree's skill at presenting a special world of sails on the high seas. A five star read! --- Moira F. (Molly) Harris
Author Marlin Bree has been at the crossroads of daredevil sailing and racing for decades, writing about fellow sailors in magazines and in books, including Broken Seas, in which he reconstructs the final hours of the famous around-the-world solo racer, Mike Plant. The former Minnesotan disappeared on the North Atlantic, on his way to begin a new race, the Vendee Globe, in his new state-0f-the-art 60-foot racer, Coyote. Later, when the overturned sloop was found, the lead bulb keel had somehow broken off. No trace of the racer himself was ever found -- forever a mystery of the sea. What happened here?