Maggie and Sam take a break from the murder and mayhem of Bishops Well and embark on a relaxing mid-winter cruise across the northern seas. The brochure promises smooth sailing, good food and dazzling entertainment. Sam is hoping to sprinkle the mix with romance.
But nothing goes to plan.
Maggie runs into an old lover, the mesmerising Benedict Rawbotham, who goes out of his way to sweep her off her feet. Sam is left seething with jealousy.
A mayday signal sent by a fishing boat forces the cruise liner off course. But there is something fishy about the rescued crew and Maggie insists that two young women have died on that boat. Alas, no one believes her.
Soon one of the alleged fishermen is also dead and so is one of the cruise passengers. Cordelia Conti Lang, nicknamed the Bitcoin Queen, with links to London’s criminal underworld, is found in her cabin, stabbed to death.
In pursuit of the killer, Maggie hurtles from one disaster to another and Sam begins to fear for her life. Has he taken her on a cruise to hell?
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Although she writes in a wide range of genres, Anna Legat is best known for her DI Gillian Marsh detective series and The Shires, her cosy murder mysteries. Anna is also the author of the historical thriller, Buried in the Past. She lives near Bath.
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My thoughts: another cracking case for the Bishops Well duo of Maggie and Sam. At least, Maggie is keen to investigate and all Sam wants to do is declare his love for her, and it’s a winter cruise to St Petersburg, not the village this time.
I went in April and it was cold then, I can’t imagine how unpleasant it must be in December, beautiful yes, but horribly cold. Sam would rather have gone to the Caribbean, but Maggie has her heart set on this one. Unfortunately there’s a murderer on board.
Maggie herself almost becomes a victim after being taking hostage, except that her kidnapper is a drug runner, not a killer, except in self defense, but it throws the other murderer a clever defense. If it isn’t the bewildered Latvian in Maggie’s cabin, then who could it be?
The victim isn’t a very nice or popular person, widow of a gangster, Bitcoin millionaire, even her own son isn’t keen. And it seems there’s a few people on board with reasons to want her dead. Maggie struggles to make sense of it all. Was it the son? His girlfriend? The ship’s security chief? It’s all a bit confusing, and she seems to be losing time and it’s a bit foggy.
Sam is exasperated as ever, Maggie on a ship is almost more chaos than Maggie at home, and he can’t seem to find the right moment to tell her how he feels.
Tremendously fun and very tangled, takes the amateur sleuths a while to figure it all out, and put the pieces together, all while exploring wintry Europe from sea.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 