The Stranger in the Lifeboat was a perfect Sunday afternoon read. It’s the new novel by Mitch Albom, known for having a philosophical spin to his writing. This is very much that – a religious parable in a modern day setting.

In the first narrative within the book, Benji is writing in a notebook to his wife Annabelle, recording his possible last days stuck on a life raft after the huge luxury yacht – the Galaxy – he’s working on as a deckhand, sinks.

Owned by Jason Lambert, the yacht was on a particularly special voyage when it went down – a guest list of some of the most famous mover, shakers and thinkers in the world.

Ten people from the yacht end up in Benji’s lifeboat, and they also pull a mysterious stranger from the waves who claims to be God…

The second storyline takes place a year after Benji’s narrative. On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, policeman Jarty LeFleur deals with the report of a raft from the Galaxy that’s washed up on a remote beach. He goes to investigate and…

'There, sealed in a plastic bag, was the remains of a notebook.'

Yes, he finds Benji’s notebook and goes on a mission to piece together what really happened when the yacht sank. Along with some news report chapters, the tantalising details are revealed.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat was actually more exciting than I was expecting. Without doing it a disservice, I thought it might veer into the worthy religious parable territory, which yes, it essentially does, but it’s the non-preachy way that Mitch Albom delivers his story that makes it so readable.

Plus, it has a cracking plot that keeps revealing new information at just the right moments and definitely has that all-important page-turning quality, I really enjoyed it!

This book is about people struggling with faith, making the idea of God fit in today’s world when there is so much injustice, tragedy and loss, it is about survival, each person finding their significance and place in the world, it’s about redemption and hope.

I’m not an overly religious person, but I did leave this book feeling a sense of warm comfort. After all, sometimes you just have to believe.

mitch albom never disappoints! i've read some of his work before and this was no different in being just as provocative and thoughtful. i enjoyed it a lot and would recommend!

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved every single book that Mitch Albom has written & this one didn’t disappoint. He has a way with words and his style of writing draws you in. Even though I’m not a huge believer reading some of Mitch’s books makes me want to believe and makes me seriously think about life, death & what comes after. Wonderful as always.

Having read and enjoyed Mitch Albom’s The Five People you Meet in Heaven I was looking forward to this and was not disappointed.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat is a beautiful story of love and loss. I would describe myself as non-religious and this book, although features some religious aspects it did not put me off at all.

The story is told from 3 points of view and each chapter is titled from whose perspective so you always know where you are.

Mitch Albom has a really lovely method of telling a story. I could picture the scene without being weighed down with details and felt emotional for some of the characters as we move through their journey with them.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher #LittleBrownBookGroup for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. #MitchAlbom #TheStrangerInTheLifeboat

I have read and loved every book I've read by this author. Ever since my ex-ma-in-law introduced me to his writing when she recommended I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven. This is a delightful book with a profound message that actually is quite pertinent in the dark days in which we live at the moment. I know that personally I've been thinking more of this side of things since March last year hit...
So, there's a shipwreck and a bunch of survivors have managed to all get to a life raft. They are kinda ticking along, albeit with scan long term hope, when they come across a man in the water. The pull him into the boat and start to interrogate him as to how he has managed to survive for so long on his own in the water. He then proceeds to tell them that he is the Lord...
And I'll leave the rest for you to discover as the author intended. Told in the recent past of the life raft - the main time line - with flashbacks to the long past, and the present when the life raft is discovered and reported to Monserrat's chief inspector Jarty LeFleur, we follow Benji, our main narrator, as he spins what turns out to be a very exciting, thrilling and poignant tale of trying to survive against the odds, hope and, of course, faith.
This book can be read on many levels. From the light where you only really consider the main story and don't veer too much from following what happens to the characters, all the way through to questioning every incident along the way and what that actually means in terms of faith. And all levels in between. It's a book you can read and take what matches, what works for you, discard what doesn't and, if you want, think about the middle ground a bit along the way. That's definitely what I did as I was reading. Don't worry, I'm not going to spill my stuff here, it was a personal read, one that touched me and one I will talk about with like minded people in my real life, but it was a personal journey and I think that everyone's experience with what is written herein will be just as personal and unique. Suffice to say, if you go in with an open mind and accept what is given to you, you will not be disappointed.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book

I love Mitch Albom - such wonderful stories! I find them to be very comforting in their simplicity. The Stranger in the Lifeboat features a group of people who are stranded in a life raft after an explosion sank the yacht they were on. One of these people claims to be 'The Lord', which brings up many different feelings and conversations between the survivors. Surely this means they must be rescued? Surely He will help everyone on the raft? Surely He will bring comfort to them? Will he? What's he there for? Is he just a random guy making it up? However, we do find out everything that happened out at sea when the raft containing only a diary is washed up on Montserrat.

I love the way the book is written. The chapter are either 'Land', 'Sea', or 'News' so there's no confusion when swapping chapters and time or place. The way The Lord is featured has really made me think. I'm not religious so it's not that, but it's made me think about the faith and beliefs of others, which I find interesting anyway. I don't want to give anything away about the ending but I'd just say read it for sure!

It's a while since I read any of Mitch Albom's books and I thought I'd give this one a try. A very expensive "executive" craft has sunk. Nine people are still afloat 3 days later on a lifeboat having seen no one else. They see a man in the water and manage to get him onto the lifeboat. He says that he can save them if they all believe in him as he is the Lord. That gives you pause for thought doesn't it! In part this story is told by one of the people on the lifeboat who is writing a journal. There are two threads in this story. One is from a policeman on land who has been taken to see what might be the lifeboat concerned and the other is the media via their interest in the story.

It didn't take me long to get into this book and after that I was caught up in the story however odd it may seem. It is not a long read and is crisply written. From time to time I found myself wondering just where this might be going. Some of the threads seemed rather odd in the circumstances. That said I had some thoughts quite early on about a possible outcome and wasn't far off the truth I guess. It's one of those books where it would be a shame to reveal more.

In some senses this, and other books from Albom, are probably rather odd to some believers and unbelievers. Within that caveat I found this a convincing story I guess. Was it an enjoyable read - yes. Was it thought provoking - maybe. I would certainly read another by this author in the future and fans of his will be very pleased by this story I think.

Another beautifully constructed novel from Mitch Albom dealing with faith and loss and the many adversities faced in life.

Benji is one of ten survivors of a sunken luxury yacht – all now fighting for survival on the open sea in a lifeboat. One of those survivors is a stranger pulled from the water who claims he is God. Through a series of entries in a notebook (found in the lifeboat one year later and 2,000 miles from the sunken yacht) the story of the survivors unfolds through three points of view (Sea, Land and News) building the story of the survivors and their fate piece by piece.

It's another heartwarming and poignant story from Mitch Albom, whose novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven remains one of my favourite ever books.

Even if you're not religious in any way this is still an emotional read which covers themes such as childhood loss (both as parent and child), life-long friendships, hate, love and humanity in general.

My thanks to Net Galley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this pre-release.

Let me preface this by saying I'm a huge fan of Mitch Albom. I have reread several of his books, and include them in my top 10 all time.
This book didn't do it for me.
A small yacht filled with rich people and essentially servants try to survive in a life boat. Pacing wise it reminded me a bit of "Life of Pi".
They are supposedly joined by G'd/Jesus, and are left to grapple with essentially nothing left on the boat. The book had a very melancholic and despaired tone, and missed the elements of uplifting that his other books have. I regret to give this two stars, but would not read it again.

I've been a fan of Mitch Albom's for more than a decade now and was incredibly excited to receive a copy of this book.

But unfortunately, whereas his previous works hinted at the concept of God and focused more on belief and hope, this book focuses more on God as a being/deity.

The story also felt off as though it didn't matter what was being told as long as the message was clear. It felt forced.

But the book can be easily read in one sitting and is uplifting and very quotable in certain places. I'm pretty sure that a lot of people will find hope and solace in this book too.

2.5/5

Adrift in a raft after a deadly explosion, nine people struggle to survive at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. "Thank the Lord we found you," a passenger says. "I am the Lord," the man whispers.

This is the story of nine survivors of an explosion on the luxury yacht they were on. Then they spot a man floating in the waves. When they pull him the man aboard the raft. he claims to be the Lord and They're faced with crises of belief.

Mitch Albom's books are always thought provoking. The story follows the journey of the nine people on the rafts battle for survival and the attempts of those on land to uncover what had happened at sea. This is a short novel that's intriguing with so much depth. The book is arranged into three parallel storylines: 1) from one of the survivors 2) the investigator investigating what happened 3) from the media reporting about the yacht. This is another fantastic read by the fabulous Mitch Albom who's books never disappoint.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #MitchAlbom for my ARC of #TheStrangerInTheLifeboat in exchange for an honest review.

On the third day, he rose – or something like that. Yes, three whole days after an explosion on a megayacht hosting the world's finest (and its owner) for a huge drunken pow-wow of ideas, the ten survivors on the life raft have taken on board someone who claims to be "the Lord" - and only needs to be believed by all of the diverse, random-seeming occupants in order to make sure they're rescued. As this is being narrated in confessional, notebook form by a staunch atheist, you have to doubt that plan's success. Oh, and thousands of miles away, on Montserrat, a policeman will have the dubious pleasure of investigating the empty boat, wafted up ashore a whole year after the incident...

I dare say many readers of Mitch Albom have a Thomas Kinkade painting somewhere in the house, for both creators have the skill of doing the same thing time and time again, with just enough variety for fans to love and want them all, and I can see many similarities in their cosy, conservative products, and the beam of positivity both are famous for. But here, while Albom's palette has been switched most suitably, and all the landscape elements are in a slightly different place, I don't think the perspective offered is as great as usual.

I think this book is too close to being a sermon, in ways that Albom's output of past years never was. You can blame that, of course, on the fact someone comes along and on page three declares they're Jesus/God/JHVH/the Lord/whoever. Once more it has a distinctive way of portraying grief, faith, the tomorrow we all want for ourselves when we've begun to doubt life's worth, and it does that through the diaries from the life-raft and from the policeman's lot (not a happy one, happy one). This raises a further issue with events here – while it's great to see Albom leave small town America entirely behind for the Caribbean (courtesy his charitable work in Haiti) and for a survivalist story from the mid-Atlantic, too much here smacked of being by someone who has watched "Life of Pi" too many times. Tempers flaring on a lifeboat? Phosphorescence giving a magical glow under sparkling skies? A messenger in unexpected form? Yup, all create another cross-over.

All told then this is a lesser Albom work, in my mind, for I've stated in the past how wonderfully readable I think his fables have been. This loses the fable, and is too overtly preachy. The readability is certainly still there – while the first twist is one that should not surprise, there are others closely following behind. But the lack of complexity, of subtlety and of a puzzle with multiple solutions make this more forgettable than I ever suspected. Three and a half stars.

This is my first Mitch Albom book and as such I was launching into the unknown with an author I was unfamiliar with.

Some of the worlds most wealthy and influential figures have congregated on the luxury yacht Galaxy for a party, there is an inexplicable explosion and the yacht sinks leaving on nine survivors in a rescue raft in the Atlantic.

It took me a little while to settle into the rhythm of the book. It moved across three strands - ‘news’ (the media coverage of the Galaxy’s party and aftermath ), ‘sea’- stories of the survivors, and ‘land’ (the investigation into the Galaxy after the raft is found one year later in Monteserrat).

I eventually settled into the book, the very simple style of writing, and found it quite absorbing and unlike anything I’d read before. Without wanting to give away any spoilers, the book left me asking myself questions about survival, faith and humanity.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for making this advanced reading copy available to me and introducing me to the worlds of Mitch Albom.

This is a another beautiful book from Mitch Albom that can be enjoyed on so many levels. The story itself is very good and it is quick and easy to read. It is a very life affirming and positive read, it t will make you feel a little bit emotional but ultimately it will make you smile.

Mitch Albom has a great gift of storytelling . This story is set after an explosion on a super, state of the art ship, the ship was carrying many of the great and good from all over the world.
The one lifeboat that survives is crammed with an assortment of characters who all have a story to tell. Supplies run low and then a stranger is found floating nearby and is hauled on board.
Many events follow that are thought provoking and the richness of this book carries through to the last page. I cannot add the ending because it will spoil things for you. A definite 5/5.
Beautiful read.

Mitch Albom writes really different, unique books. I saw this one listed on NetGalley and requested it on the strength of previous books I had read by this author rather than the blurb about this particular novel. Had I read the blurb, I would have realised there is a strong theme of faith and as a non religious person this may have put me off.

This short novel is about nine survivors of a sunken, luxury yacht, who are adrift in a life raft. One of the people in the raft claims to be God.

This is one of those books that make you consider what it would be like to be in the position of the characters in the book. How would you cope adrift at sea? What would you do when food and water started to run out? And how would you react if the person sat with you says he is God and that the situation will not be resolved until everyone in the boat believes in him.

This is a great story. There is plenty of tension. the book moves at a great pace and alternates between the story at sea, the story from the land and the news. It wasn't predictable, it isn't religious, but does make you think about faith and I absolutely loved the ending. Highly recommended. I will definitely continue to pick up other books by Mitch Albom.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read any books by Mitch Albom before but, I was intrigued by the blurb, so I requested it on NetGalley.
Billionaire James Lambert decides to set sail on his luxury yacht called the Galaxy with some of the richest and famous and influential people in the world. But something goes wrong, and the yacht explodes. The stranger in the lifeboat is story of the 9 of the survivors on a life raft when they see a person in a water. They bring if onto the raft and they find out that this person is GOD.
The story set in three stages The sea, The Land and The news. The land tells of Inspector Fleur leading an investigation when the life raft appears off a beach a year later in Montserrat.
This is a beautifully written, life affirming story of love and loss. It is also thought-provoking. What would you do if the lord appeared in front of you and you wanted answers to his actions and your own. The regrets that you have and what you could have done differently. I do believe in God so it will keep me thinking about this book for a while. I really enjoyed this tale, and I was engrossed through out and will make sure that I will check out the other books that he has written.

Mitch Albom is a great writer whose fictional explorations of the possibility of an afterlife always capture my imagination. While his stories usually involve placing ordinary mortals in a heavenly context, The Stranger in the Lifeboat inverts the model, by bringing “the Lord” to earth – or rather, to sea – as He joins ten shipwrecked souls adrift in the ocean after an explosion on a billionaire’s yacht.
Lambert had brought a variety of the world’s top influencers on to his yacht to explore solutions for earth’s future in a project called The Grand Idea. Of these, only a few have made it into the lifeboat, including Lambert himself. Other survivors are staff from the yacht, a little girl and deckhand Benji, who recounts their adventures in letter form, in a notebook discovered by Inspector leFleur a year later when the lifeboat washes up, empty, on a Montserrat beach.
Between Benji’s letters, leFleur’s observations and news reports about the explosion on the Galaxy, different threads of the story are brought together in a tense and exciting narrative which sees the survivors of the explosion endure hunger, thirst, shark attacks and in-fighting. Will all, or any, survive? And why won't the Lord help them?
Aside from physical privations, Benji must also endure psychological anguish. Is it his fault the Galaxy exploded? Could he have done something to prevent it? As the first person on the lifeboat, is he responsible for the safety and well-being of the other lost souls?
This story has so many themes – it explores the questions of guilt and redemption, faith and salvation, and the meaning of life – all beautifully wrapped in a truly engrossing story of people’s determination to survive a cruel sea – and a cruel world.
Is the Lord really God, come down from heaven? Well, it’s Mitch Albom, and I believe what he tells me … you’ll have to make your minds up for yourself.

A group of people on a lifeboat waiting to be rescued pull a man from the sea. The man claims to be The Lord but very few believe him.
Unfortunately I found this story very slow and disjointed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mitch Albom's books always make you think as he tackles the big questions about life, love and what makes us who we are.
The story is told in 3 different strands.
A group of survivors from a shipwreck are adrift in a lifeboat with seemingly no hope of rescue. A news reporter charts the events that happened on the boat before and after its destruction and a policeman tries to work out what happened from an account he finds on a washed up lifeboat.
Who was on the boat, what happened to them and did they really believe that one of the people could genuinely save them if they believed in him?.
A book that will stay with you after you have finished it. Albom's books always prove that you don't need to write a doorstop to be memorable.
An enjoyable thought provoking read.