While missing cruising, I gave in and read another one of the 'Murder on Cunard' books by Edward Marston... While many of them had moments where they were hindrances, none were more dangerous to my blood pressure than Nigel Wilmshurst and his wife, Araminta. What made the whole experience particularly unpleasant was that Genevieve turned into a doormat every time Nigel or Araminta were involved - she’s never been strong at handling her unwanted suitors, despite always telling George she can handle it alone, but there were almost dire consequences to her ridiculous insistence that everything is fine this time. I was appalled at her (frankly brainless and silly) decision to brush what happened near the end under a rug - it was the one dark spot to this otherwise great 5th book. I’m as frustrated as George that the villain never received just punishment. A good, old-fashioned mystery set on the maiden voyage of the famous Lusitania from England to New York in 1907, Murder on the Lusitania certainly doesn't disappoint. The action - a murder, assorted burglaries, a financial scam - takes place during the England to Egypt leg of the voyage. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery - murder, a spate of thefts on board causing chaos throughout first and second class and a larger plot to steal the gold bullion being transported by the Mauretania to New York are all cleverly connected and quite enough to keep seasoned mystery readers guessing. It's great fun. It would've been even better if we had more time to more firmly establish the reasoning behind the criminals' guilt; the red herring was unexpected, but it took time away from convincing me how and why the real criminals did it.

The Domesday series, featuring Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, commissioners appointed by William the Conqueror, to look into the serious irregularities that come to light during the compilation of the Domesday Book, the great survey of England: The Home Front Detective Series, featuring Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy, set in WWI.

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Herbert, Rosemary, ed. (1999). The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507239-1. DOMESDAY IS COMINGIn 1086, England’s mighty king, William the Conqueror, sends out surveyors and census takers to record the resources of his land and its people. Some welcome these inquisitive royal agents and their day of judgment. Others hate them. But wherever the king’s men go they bring excitement and sometimes murder…

In the tradition of novels by Golden Age mystery writers like Christie and Marsh, we have an interesting and varied cast of characters/suspects, mostly restricted to the first class passengers, whom we're slowly introduced to. George Porter Dillman, our protagonist, is hired by the Cunard Line as an undercover detective and finds more trouble than he had expected when an overly nosey journalist, Henry Barcroft, is found murdered. This had so much potential. SO much. And just kind of fell flat for me. It did have enough that I may read the second one, but I am not in a huge hurry. Sigh. Marston began his Restoration series in 1999 featuring architect/detective Christopher Redmayne and the puritan Constable Jonathan Bale. Six books were written in this series, with the last one, The Painted Lady, released in 2007. In the "Captain Rawson" series, Marston has written about a soldier and spy operating during the military campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough. I thought there could have been more interaction between the main characters. It's unfortunate they don't travel together so they don't see much of each other. Their romance seems to have taken off but Dillman still feels cool to me. Relationships are not the author's forte I guess.

Dillman and Masefield, the seagoing detective team, are now about the Marmora, a ship owned and operated by the P&O line. They are traveling to Australia via the Mediterranean and Egypt. The purser, a charming Irishman, does not like either of them and does not really want them there meddling into what he considers to be his ship's business. On board is the Princess Royal Louise, her husband, the Duke of Fife, their two daughters and other various passengers, but there is a bit of a surprise for Genevieve. Her ex-fiance, Nigel Wilmshurst, is on board with his new bride for their honeymoon. As usual, the voyage begins and things start disappearing from cabins right away. While the two are puzzling over these crimes, there is a murder on board.

He used the pseudonym Christopher Mountjoy for three books in the 1980s, Coming of Age, Queen and Country and The Honourable Member. [6] [14] Bibliography [ edit ] As Keith Miles [ edit ] I wasn’t very keen on Murder On The Lusitania. It’s a competently crafted cosy mystery with an interesting period shipboard setting, but it didn’t really work for me. The Merlin Richards series, Set in the late 1920s. Merlin is a bored young Welsh architect who seeks his fortune in the US, hopefully working for the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Merlin's strong sense of morality means that when crimes happen around him he won't just leave it to the police to solve! stars, I enjoyed this more than the first in the series; the author seemed to have more control of the pacing and the multiple characters. He shifts the action between his two undercover detectives, Dillman covering second class and steerage, and Masefield in first class pretty smoothly, and keeps the pacing moving along. Both are hired by the Cunard Line to blend in among the passengers and keep an eye out for any shifty, possibly illegal behavior, and ideally nip it in the bud. and I will probably end up reading a third book to decide if this is a series I would like to continue reading or not.Edward has also written a couple of architectural novels, which are set in the 1930’s era of America, featuring the main protagonist Merlin Richards. Because of his highly acclaimed style of writing and unique setting, he is regarded as a pro in his field by many reputed magazines. The hallmarks of his books include consummate storytelling, astute characterization and plot setting and a love of period. His early series’ as a scriptwriter for radio and television include Z-Cars, The Archers and Crossroads. Edward adopted his pseudonym of Edward Marston inspired from a real Elizabethan playwright named John Marston when he began writing novels set in the Elizabethan theatrical world. His earlier series under the pseudonym featured a fictional theater company named Westfield’s Men. His other historical series’ have been set during the Restoration London, Victorian England during 1850’s and the military operations of the Duke of Marlborough. Edward was the chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association in the year 1997-98. He was married twice, first with Rosalind Miles and the second time with Judith Cutler, who is a mystery writer herself.