He Jumped First — Tim Baker

TWO LIVES. ONE SECRET. A LOVE THAT REFUSED TO SINK.When Hollywood producer Ben Howell dies by suicide, he leaves behind a single, unassuming key—and a lifetime of unanswered questions. His estranged son, Will, expects to tie up loose ends. What he finds instead is a hidden journal that unlocks more than just a door. It unleashes the voice of a seventeen-year-old boy named Benji, trapped forever on the decks of the Titanic as it plunged toward disaster.Through his father's words—aching with longing and regret—Will is drawn into Benji's haunting story: a boy who, amidst luxury and legend, found a love he was never meant to have. A forbidden love, so fierce, it would alter the course of two lives forever.As the Titanic sails toward its fate, Benji's desperate passion unfolds. And as Will reads deeper into his father's confessions, he uncovers a devastating truth about that frozen April night—learning that some survivors never truly escaped the disaster, their secrets drowning them long after the ship sank.Now, standing at the edge of his father's truth, Will must decide: Was Ben's death the end of the story... or the beginning of setting a soul free?From the depths of history comes a sweeping, heartbreaking novel of forbidden love, family secrets, and the unbearable cost of a life unlived.He Jumped First is a poignant blend of historical fiction, forbidden romance, and LGBTQ+ love, sweeping readers from the gilded decks of the Titanic to the silver shadows of old Hollywood.Perfect for fans of the epic romance of Titanic, the heartbreaking secrets of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and the profound love of The Song of Achilles.Some Secrets Don't Drown. They Wait to be Found.