Why are we still fascinated with the story of the Titanic?  Nearly a hundred years later, we all know the boat sinks, but no one can seem to get enough of her story–and those of the over two thousand souls on her who sailed unkowingly to their destiny that April night.

Allan Wolf presents twenty-four of those individuals in a series of haunting poems that make up The Watch that Ends the Night.  We hear from everyone from Captain EJ Smith, shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, and businessman Bruce Ismay–those responsible for the Titanic–down to the children in third class and even a ship’s rat.  I found the voices of the iceberg and the undertaker John Snow to be the most chilling.  Many of the voices on the ship are hiding secrets that are slowly revealed or taken to the bottom of the ocean.

I loved getting to know the passengers and crew as they boarded Titanic with hopes and dreams for the future. I found myself dreading what came next as the ship steamed ever closer to the iceberg.  (Yes, the iceberg is lying in wait, hungry for the living, beating hearts on board the ship).  I knew many of the characters I had gotten to know and care for would go down with the ship.  Even the ones that survived, would have their lives changed forever from that night.

If you, too, are eager for one more story about the Titanic, you will want to read The Watch that Ends the Night.