“A Pacific Northwest cult classic” novel set in the perilous world of Alaska’s elite fishing crews (Publishers Weekly).
Hank Crawford just wanted to make some cash during summer break from college, and working in a cannery in Alaska seemed as good a way as any. But instead of the drudgery of slogging away in a factory full of fish guts, Hank finds himself doing the unthinkable: joining a crew of expert fishermen. He’s about to learn there’s nothing quite like life at sea—as long as you don’t die before making it dockside.
The highliners are the elite of the fishing world: the skippers and crews who make the biggest catches—salmon, king crab, halibut, shrimp—and deliver them first to the bustling canneries of Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. Some fishermen get rich; many die broke. But they all do the job because it’s what they love more than anything, whether pulling in a fortune of fish on a sunny day or battling for survival in an arctic maelstrom.
Hooked by the life, Hank learns the brutal business from hard-fisted skippers, penny-pinching cannery managers, the pirates of the fishing world—and the rare women who stand alongside these men. And by the end of the summer, Hank just might find something he didn’t even know he was looking for . . .
“Sexy, violent, and entertaining,” Highliners is the perfect novel for fans of TV’s Deadliest Catch or tales of wilderness adventure (Baltimore magazine).
