Dear Reader:
There’s something about an island.
All the things that make it the perfect vacation spot —the seclusion, the privacy, the freedom— also make it the ideal location for murder and mayhem—the isolation, the loneliness, the lack of communication with the outside world. Growing up near Alabama’s border with Florida, I took frequent visits to the beach, and my parents eventually bought a small sailboat. While we never went much further than a few miles from our berth, I dreamed of bigger adventures, longer trips, and the freedom that the open ocean can give you.
And because I was also just the littlest bit morbid as a kid, I also spent a lot of time thinking about what might go wrong when it was just you, a boat, and all that water all that space.
Reckless Girls is the result of those long years of seeking out the darker side of adventure stories. I haven’t been on a sailboat in years but writing this book, it all came back to me––both the exciting parts and the parts that were quite frankly terrifying and never covered on the show ,Below Deck.
2020 was a strange and hard year for all of us, and I’m grateful I got to spend part of it on Meroe Island, even if it is a pretty scary place. I hope you all enjoy going there now. Be sure to pack some Dramamine.
And that life jacket.
Bon voyage!
Rachel Hawkins