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SHIP WATCH
AN ENGROSSING SAGA FILLED WITH SOUTHERN FAMILY THEATRICS, EXES AND EXCESS, AND MONUMENTAL CHARACTERS …. ONE THAT BRINGS AN UNFORGETTABLE AND GRATIFYING FINALE
Set around the renowned and historical homestead at the center of the drama, Ship Watch weaves together six intertwined relationships that extend from the gentrified city of Savannah and into the wealthy enclaves of Sea Island, Highlands, and Atlanta’s Buckhead. The novel’s characters are drawn in the loom by the family's elegantly formidable matriarch, Grand Martha, and form a multi-generational tapestry that includes the misfortunes of divorce and betrayal – but in more and even better measure opportunities for redemption, rediscovery, and the rarified gift of ‘second love.’ By combining an encompassing setting having a solid sense of place along with characters that are captivating and rather extraordinary, Ship Watch is a sometimes bittersweet, yet often comedic, Southern tour-de-force debut novel.
Editorial Reviews
Come peek inside the kimono of Savannah’s bluest of blue-blood families. When ownership of Ship Watch, the family’s long-owned grand plantation on the banks of the Savannah River, is contested, proverbial long knives are brandished. Much of this engrossing tale depicts place — Savannah, Highlands, and Sea Island – where the wealthy make merry and hold court. —Jameson Gregg, Georgia Author of the Year, Luck Be A Chicken
“Storyteller extraordinaire, raconteur, and old-school bon vivant Johnathon Barrett celebrates the most glorious aspects of Southern life in all four of his wonderfully written books”—Janis Owens, award-winning and bestselling author of American Ghost and My Brother Michael
"Few areas of the country dazzle and intrigue the way the Low Country does. Barrett brings it to life in an epic tapestry of Southern culture that will leave you wanting more." — R.J. Lee, author of the Bridge to Death Mysteries
“Set amongst the sumptuous backdrop of Savannah Georgia’s elite, Johnathon Scott Barrett’s debut novel, Ship Watch, is a compelling Southern saga of unyielding women and the alluring men they love, family tradition, and second chances.” — Robert Gwaltney, Georgia New Author of the Year, The Cicada Tree
“Ship Watch is the closest you’ll come to breathing the rarified air of the Southern aristocracy. Grab your cocktail of choice and settle in for excess and exes, second chances, and at least one epic Julia Sugarbaker-style setting-things-to-right takedown. - Jeffrey Dale Lofton, award-winning author of Red Clay Suzie
“Ship Watch, a stately Southern mansion built on the coast of Georgia in is only one of the intricate array of characters in this debut novel.. Readers will be transported into this down-home Southern story about April Anne Adams, a small-town Georgia girl, who finds getting everything she ever dreamed of doesn’t guarantee happiness, and Tripp Randolph, who is set to inherit Ship Watch if his soon-to-be ex-wife doesn’t win the mansion in their nasty divorce. April Anne and Tripp converge together and sparks fly. Not always in a good way. A page turner until the end.
Set around the renowned and historical homestead at the center of the drama, Ship Watch weaves together six intertwined relationships that extend from the gentrified city of Savannah and into the wealthy enclaves of Sea Island, Highlands, and Atlanta’s Buckhead. The novel’s characters are drawn in the loom by the family's elegantly formidable matriarch, Grand Martha, and form a multi-generational tapestry that includes the misfortunes of divorce and betrayal – but in more and even better measure opportunities for redemption, rediscovery, and the rarified gift of ‘second love.’ By combining an encompassing setting having a solid sense of place along with characters that are captivating and rather extraordinary, Ship Watch is a sometimes bittersweet, yet often comedic, Southern tour-de-force debut novel.
Editorial Reviews
Come peek inside the kimono of Savannah’s bluest of blue-blood families. When ownership of Ship Watch, the family’s long-owned grand plantation on the banks of the Savannah River, is contested, proverbial long knives are brandished. Much of this engrossing tale depicts place — Savannah, Highlands, and Sea Island – where the wealthy make merry and hold court. —Jameson Gregg, Georgia Author of the Year, Luck Be A Chicken
“Storyteller extraordinaire, raconteur, and old-school bon vivant Johnathon Barrett celebrates the most glorious aspects of Southern life in all four of his wonderfully written books”—Janis Owens, award-winning and bestselling author of American Ghost and My Brother Michael
"Few areas of the country dazzle and intrigue the way the Low Country does. Barrett brings it to life in an epic tapestry of Southern culture that will leave you wanting more." — R.J. Lee, author of the Bridge to Death Mysteries
“Set amongst the sumptuous backdrop of Savannah Georgia’s elite, Johnathon Scott Barrett’s debut novel, Ship Watch, is a compelling Southern saga of unyielding women and the alluring men they love, family tradition, and second chances.” — Robert Gwaltney, Georgia New Author of the Year, The Cicada Tree
“Ship Watch is the closest you’ll come to breathing the rarified air of the Southern aristocracy. Grab your cocktail of choice and settle in for excess and exes, second chances, and at least one epic Julia Sugarbaker-style setting-things-to-right takedown. - Jeffrey Dale Lofton, award-winning author of Red Clay Suzie
“Ship Watch, a stately Southern mansion built on the coast of Georgia in is only one of the intricate array of characters in this debut novel.. Readers will be transported into this down-home Southern story about April Anne Adams, a small-town Georgia girl, who finds getting everything she ever dreamed of doesn’t guarantee happiness, and Tripp Randolph, who is set to inherit Ship Watch if his soon-to-be ex-wife doesn’t win the mansion in their nasty divorce. April Anne and Tripp converge together and sparks fly. Not always in a good way. A page turner until the end.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 4, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 9, 2024
Great read! I came to love so many of the characters. Hope there’s a sequel!
December 13, 2023
This is a charming, well written debut novel. Many cooks have come to treasure this author's cookbooks, and I am sure that readers will come to love this book as well. Mr Barrett has clearly fallen to Savannah's many charms, and writes about it lovingly, without either the cloying sweetness of Eugenia Price or John Berendt's unseemly invention. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this tale and its wonderfully depicted characters making their way to the Hallmark Network.
April 3, 2024
Wanted to love it.
December 5, 2023
Set amongst the sumptuous backdrop of Savannah Georgia’s elite, Johnathon Scott Barrett’s debut novel, Ship Watch, is a compelling Southern saga of unyielding women and the alluring men they love, family tradition, and second chances.
February 4, 2024
Johnathon Barrett’s debut novel about life in Savannah is entertaining, compelling and delightful! There’s a little family drama, lots of love and some family secrets thrown in for intrigue. Johnathon can tell a story like no other! Look forward to hearing if there will more from him!
March 17, 2024
I loved this book so much that I didn't want to put it down. The characters are funny, charming, sinister, and engaging.
April 15, 2024
This was a fun book about the elite of Savannah and their crazy lives. I loved the characters and it was a good story.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews