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If there's been a murder there are two thousand people aboard ship and any one of whom could have done it. The night before the dead man was found he was seen arguing with a fellow passenger. Then it is discovered that a priceless painting has been stolen from a cabin. Whatever happened, it’s a mystery that is supposed to keep readers guessing and hopefully continue reading which I did! I ate this up and I can’t even say why!! This may be a closed-circle mystery, but it wasn’t suspenseful even though they were all trapped on one ship. Birch and Temple spend their days interviewing other passengers, potential suspects and witnesses, going from one cabin to the next while the only thing Temple does is be angry and shout at people and Birch always calms everyone down.
For some unknown reason (most likely my inability to read a synopsis properly) I thought this was going to be a historical who dunnit in the style of Agatha Christies And Then There Were None but while there are some similarities it's a little bit different. For one thing it's set in the present day with a group of residents from a small village, and a few unexpected guests, attending a murder mystery party on New Year's Eve at the local hotel. With just days remaining until they reach New York, and even Temple's purpose on board the Endeavour proving increasingly suspicious, Birch's search for the culprit is fraught with danger. A strong, determined, feisty female protagonist, the crimes credible, heinous, prevalent and feature in our news headlines far too often and a fabulous twist or two that will surprise the most hardened crime fiction reader. This is a fabulous read and I cannot wait for the next book in this series to arrive in my letterbox. When the body of an elderly man is found at the bottom of a flight of stairs, Timothy Birch, ship's officer on the Endeavour sailing from Southampton to New York, becomes the sleuthing partner of James Temple, a Scotland Yard Detective. Temple is adamant that the death is a murder, but the ship's captain is reluctant to view it as anything but an accident. However, Temple prevails and the captain agrees to an investigation – but only if it is kept secret and that Birch accompany Temple as he interviews passengers and crew. Mounting an investigation, the pair uncover the theft of a priceless painting, and encounter a string of suspects with secrets to hide.When I first came across this book, it seemed like something I would absolutely love. Set in 1924, aboard a transatlantic liner travelling from Southampton to New York, this seemed to have the period flavour I love and a great setting. The Endeavour, with two thousand on board, is a wonderfully self-contained world, which seems ideal for a mystery. The very first thing I noticed about this book was the author’s writing style. Calling it juvenile might go a bit too far but it was definitely too tame for my taste. Bland and boring, it was immediately forgettable and repetitive. It’s always “the ship stretches the best part of…” or “the best part of fifty thousand tons” or “the restaurant’s capacity to seat the best part of five hundred diners” or “the best part of an hour/minute”… What a great debut! This is a very credible and immensely satisfying read that had moments that remind me of actual crime that have occurred in Australia, specifically in Perth WA. I won’t share the details as I don’t want to influence your reading or give away any spoilers but after you have read it, tell me if anything in this novel resonated with crimes in your region. I enjoyed what I read of this more than the A Fatal Crossing, because it felt more focused and more clearly plotted. However, there are a lot of characters and perspectives though, which I was struggling to keep on top of, but this may have improved had I continued to read. H δανέζα συγγραφέας καταπιάνεται με μια μακάβρια ιστορία και τη συνθέτει με προσοχή, λεπτομέρεια και διακριτικότητα.
I have rated it 3 stars for several reasons, the first being that the characters are all unlikable. Birch is so utterly annoying with his constant ribbon playing that I nearly put the book down. Temple is also deeply unlikable, he’s constantly aggravated and highly strung and there isn’t one good quality about him. The rest of characters are bland and that’s being polite.
This book was actually such a fun book to read, it was a bit slow at some places, but I think it has the perfect amount of tension and cliffhangers between each hour of the night were delectable I was at the edge of my seat whenever I finished a part and had to sleep because I had to wake up early the next day. Theils, η Νόρα Σαν, μας γυρνάει στο παρελθόν. Στο παρελθόν της παιδικής ή της εφηβικής μας ηλικίας θυμίζοντας μας μια εποχή που έχει περάσει στη λήθη της μνήμης μας φέρνοντας μας ακούσματα, εικόνες, μυρωδιές και γεύσεις της δεκαετίας του ’80. Ακολουθούμενοι το παρελθόν της Νόρα καθώς στην Αγγλία θα ξαναβρεθεί με έναν παλιό της συμμαθητή, τον Αντρέας, θα καταφέρουμε να γνωρίσουμε λίγο παραπάνω τον χαρακτήρα της αλλά και το περιβάλλον γύρω της κάνοντας τη ιδιαίτερα συμπαθή στα μάτια μας. Τη Νόρα την αγαπάς καθώς διαβάζεις τις προσπάθειες της να ανακαλύψει τι έγιναν τα δύο κορίτσια και πως χάθηκαν τόσο ξαφνικά τα ίχνη τους αλλά και τη συναισθηματική πάλη που γίνεται μέσα της για τον Αντρέας. Για εμένα είναι σίγουρα το alter ego της Lone Theils η οποία λειτουργεί κατά βάση όπως η δημιουργός της φαντάζομαι ως δημοσιογράφος που ήταν καθώς τώρα έχει επιστρέψει στη Δανία και έχει αφοσιωθεί πλήρως στη συγγραφή αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων. The girls on the England" boat was an interesting detective story, I came to like Nora Sands, an experienced journalist who accidentally stumble across a photo that will affect her life considerably. I always like to read books in which a person begins to unravel the disappearance of several years before and this book was no exception. However, I found that although the book interesting was it not exactly exciting to read. I felt like it was missing something to really catch my interest. We also meet a whole range of people – who between them have a whole host of secrets! Not many of them were very nice people, but that’s fine as I was convinced that each of them in turn was the killer. I honestly suspected everyone – except there’s no way I’d have predicted the ending of the novel.
They are to take part in a murder mystery game with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play. Nora, the main character, is a nice change from those police officers who have more problems with their personal lives in the span of one book than the average person will ever have in their entire lives. It's also cool to have thrillers were the main character isn't working for the police but is a journalist, even if it means she'll completely disregard everything the police say. Liked that she had a fairly normal relationship with her family and while I wasn't too into the relationship drama, it didn't play too big a role. The whole story takes place over a four day period in November 1924 as the cruise liner Endeavour approaches New York from Southampton with two thousand passengers and crew on board. When an elderly man is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the ship’s captain assumes – and hopes – that it’s an accident. However, James Temple, a Scotland Yard inspector, happens to be one of the passengers on the voyage and, after examining the body, he is convinced that the old man has been murdered. The captain givesWhen I was drawn into the story and the mystery around the photo, I really enjoyed the book. It may have had a slow start for me but the second half of the book had more action, especially at the end!
Set in 1924, A Fatal Crossing is in the golden age style of crime writing and it has a definite nod to Agatha Christie’s work. It goes along at a fine pace with a clever ending that I loved. I thought it was an excellent historical crime mystery.
BLOG ARCHIVE
The captain and crew assume that the passenger has met his death accidentally by missing his step on the stairs but, aboard the Endeavour is a detective from Scotland Yard, James Temple who is suspicious about the death. Temple and Tim Birch one of the ship's officers are asked to work together on the investigation. Timothy Birch, an officer on The Endeavour, carries a great burden with him. His daughter Amelia has been missing for two years, and he feels responsible, as he was away at sea at the time. His wife Kate had pleaded with him not to go, worrying that should something happen, she wouldn’t have anyone to turn to, and then of course it did. Kate has since left him, and he’s completely distraught. I loved how the game was constructed and how everything went down hill when a murder happened during the murder mystery party. My main reason for DNFing is because the premise is inaccurate, although my knowledge of this only comes from my career. Essentially, there's upset in a Devon village when the lighthouse is to be developed by a local developer who left for London as a teen and has returned; he is hugely unpopular because he 'stole' the planning permission for development from a popular local who also runs the tourist information. I'm a Town Planner and it's impossible to steal a planning permission, it belongs the building, not to a person. My other issue, that the local council is believed to have been bribed by the developer to give him the planning permission, comes across as lazy plotting that bashes 'corrupt' councils. Anyone can apply for planning permission, for any building, but only the person who owns it can implement that permission, if approved, and undertake the development.
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