Double Down

The sea wrote her fate as surely as if it could mark her soul. Atlantic to Pacific to Indian, the rip currents of her life always shortened the dead calm.
The devil wears a Hong Kong tailored suit. Ava’s mama warns her that he hides in a charming package. Travelling to the Southern Hemisphere, Ava learns danger hides best when closest to you. Southern journalist Ava Marks mistakes challenge for love with Philip “Skip” Dubbledon, a caddish, Yank oil executive based in Sydney, Australia. Attracted to his mix of professional power and personal vulnerability, she tries taming him. Her fateful promise to crew in the Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race wades them into the rip currents. His arrogance and her inability to apply professional skills to her personal life set them on a path of destruction. Suspicious and jealous of Skip’s new female interest, Ava tries distancing herself. In Perth, she meets a business acquaintance of Skip, Edward Townsend. He accompanies her to the America’s Cup Ball, setting off a triangle of deceit and romantic confusion. From this moment forward, the three are towed toward the abyss. A sudden death leaves Ava searching for answers. Her discoveries reveal the greed of countries and executives willing to gamble everything to the death.
Double Down delves into the psyche of its main characters in a way only possible by a psychologist. Motivations are clear though sometimes misguided. Reasoning flows from insightful to frustrating and is often amusingly biased. Newton creates complex characters and vivid scenes long remembered after this page turning read is finished.