The Stowaway by Robert Hough is, in a word, amazing. Some stowaways are found on board a container ship, and, to the crew's shock and horror, the officers respond by setting them adrift in a makeshift raft, sending them to certain death. When another stowaway is found, the crew is compelled to keep him alive and hidden from the officers, knowing full well that if their plan is found out they will be the next ones thrown overboard. The result is a dark, tense, dramatic thriller that has you holding your breath every time you turn a page, and would be the perfect candidate for the next thriller-on-a-boat movie.

When I came to the end of the book, I was surprised to find out that it was based on a true story, the Maersk Dubai! Everything actually happened, only the character of the stowaway was changed because the author couldn't get an interview with the real stowaway.

The author also gets bonus points for accurately portraying language gaps and conversations between two people for whom English is a second language, which many authors seem to have trouble with.