Francis Meadowes has landed himself an enviable job lecturing on the history of crime writing aboard the Golden Adventurer as it cruises down the West African coast. His fellow passengers, including opinionated retired surgeon Klaus, mischievous elderly widow Eve, flamboyant designer Sebastian, beautiful American aid worker Sadie and her tedious but extremely wealthy aunt, are an eclectic group. But is any one of them capable of murder?
When one of the guests is found dead in bed and a second disappears overboard, Francis finds himself drawn into a baffling murder investigation where nothing is as it first appears...
Mark McCrum began his career as a travel writer, with well-received books about Southern Africa (Happy Sad Land), Australia (No Worries) and Ireland (The Craic). He is also the author of the UK Top Ten non-fiction bestsellers 1900 House and Castaway 2000, the UK No.1 bestseller Robbie Williams: Somebody Someday, and Walking With The Wounded, which told the story of four wounded soldiers and their successful attempt to reach the North Pole. His debut novel, The Festival Murders, was longlisted for the Independent on Sunday's 2014 Alternative Booker prize, and selected as the Mail on Sunday's 'Thriller of the Week'.
Title: Cruising to Murder (A Francis Meadowes Mystery)
Author: McCrum, Mark
ISBN: 9780727829603
Binding:
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2019-02-28
Number of Pages: 320
Weight: 0.4001 kg
McCrum provides a fair-play mystery: all the clues to means, motive, and opportunity are hidden in plain sight for the eager reader to put together. * Publishers Weekly *
McCrum finds enough variations on the [murder-on-a-cruise-ship] theme to make the book feel fresh, and, in Francis Meadowes, he has a likable and smart series lead. A good choice for traditional-mystery fans. * Booklist *
McCrum's second Francis Meadowes mystery is a beautifully judged homage to the golden-age detective novel - and an enjoyable travelogue to boot. Crime writer Francis has accepted a place on a cruise around the West African coast in exchange for the odd onboard lecture. McCrum deftly assembles a cast of rich eccentrics and then starts on the serious business of killing them off, leaving Francis to figure out why. * Mail on Sunday *
With the inevitable eclectic mix of characters - none of whom would be out of place in an Agatha Christie tale - it has a charm and wit that the mistress of crime herself might admire. * Daily Mail *
An intriguing, gentle mystery . With the inevitable eclectic mix of characters - none of whom would be out of place in an Agatha Christie tale - it has a charm and wit that the mistress of crime herself might admire * Daily Mail *
A beautifully judged homage to the golden-age detective novel - and an enjoyable travelogue to boot * Mail on Sunday *
Traditionalists will love this book * Literary Review *
McCrum captures the claustrophobia and subtle tensions of the enforced socialising between very rich (and not always very pleasant) passengers brilliantly .The twists and turns of his plotting will satisfy the most exacting aficionado of this genre and the denouement is enjoyably unexpected * Erotic Review *
