Conrad Allen, Murder on the Celtic

Murder on the Celtic

Conrad Allen

St. Martin's, March 2007, $23.95, 288 pp.

ISBN 0312356196

On land, George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield are happily married, but when they work on a cruise ship they have to pretend they are single so they can meet a larger number of first class passengers. The latest voyage begins in 1910 in New York City aboard the Celtic sailing to England. While they start the journey, they are mortified that a burglar and murder Edward Hammond might be on board. George is positive that if he is on the ship he will begin stealing valuables in first class cabins.

The most famous passenger of all is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who ironically is the victim of the first theft on board the ship. His first edition autographed book A STUDY IN SCARLET with notes in the pages is stolen. Tragedy strikes when Jane Lowbury reports her husband David missing after she sent him to get her heart pills from their cabin. Evidence points to the fact that he was thrown overboard. A rash of robberies lead the ship's detectives to believe that Edward Hammond is responsible but they don't know what he looks like, what class passage he is staying in, or who his contacts are. It takes excellent detective work to break this case wide open.

There is a lot of activity going on this ocean voyage. Readers get a look at how people cope in steerage and how arrivals report at Ellis Island. One group even made a bet as to who could make Genevieve fall for him first. Ironically a passenger in steerage and one of Genevieve's suitors point the detectives in the right direction to find the killer. This is a great sea cruise mystery.

Harriet Klausner