Editorial Review

Whalers by Kyle Farnworth follows the protagonist Ethan Callahan, a middle school teacher in the town of New Bedford, Massachusetts (North America). Nicknamed “Whaling City” after the town’s once booming trade in whale hunting, Ethan’s existence in a economically deprived area is turned upside down when he is implicated in the mysterious disappearance of schoolgirl Aaliyah Ridgeway. In the small town of the Whaling City, every action has its ripples and for Ethan those ripples come with a price.

Within the thriller genre, Whalers is a fascinating book to read, a page turner from the first page to the very last. The book itself comes in at around 230 pages, but this includes a prologue which details the history of the whaling industry in New Bedford. At five pages, the prologue is longer than most, but does give prior background into why the townsfolk of New Bedford within Whalers are formed the way the are, and why the nickname “Whaling City” still continues to exist centuries later.

As a lead character, Ethan has all the necessary attributes to put him squarely into the category of a lead suspect in Aaliyah’s disappearance. A fed-up alcoholic who begrudgingly plods through life as a sixth grade teacher, Ethan provides the perfect tinderbox for when fingers start pointing. As an author, Farnworth does a brilliant job at creating a character that can articulately vocalize their internal and external frustrations through a first person perspective, as well as providing bold descriptions that clearly articulate the monotonous boredom of teaching the same material over and over again. In this sense, Ethan is a character very similar to that of Nick Dunne in Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.

Whalers is a well written novel, with a attention grabbing plot and plenty of jaw-dropping moments, all within a number of pages that makes it easily consumable and accessible to a multitude of readers. Coupled with a beautifully designed cover (showcasing the talents of designer Victoria Heath Silk), Whalers is the perfect book for fans of thrillers and contemporary fiction alike. Five stars, through and through.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐