Excellent book with a great storyline. Characters that are so well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

Locked aboard a small cruise ship with a murder, killing both above and below stairs and with an ever-changing style. Great idea! The story moved a little more slowly than I would prefer, but it still held the attention and provided a great “who done it”. Certainly, there were characters who made one wish to be guilty – both among the guests and crew.

The story is good, with interesting characters from a variety of backgrounds, although some of them did not quite ring true. Well written and easy read.

Francis Meadowes a crime writer has been booked to give a lecture on board a cruise ship. This is the high end of cruising, unusual venues and mostly wealthy people. The ship the Golden Adventurer is sailing around Africa. The passengers are mostly American but a few British and one German, a retired surgeon Klaus Francis befriends an elderly lady who has cruised for some years. He is upset when she is found dead in her bed. The doctor insists that the body is tested as a suspect death. A few days later there is a "Man over Board" cry although it's a woman, the young companion of an elderly man.
Francis after his success as a sleuth at the Literary Festival is asked to investigate. Passengers unsurprisingly are all wary and scared that they will be next.
The author knows his cruising and has written a very good mystery which keeps you guessing. He has written mainly non fiction books but his previous one featuring Francis was set at the literary festival. Very enjoyable and highly recommended. I look forward to further adventures of Francis. See my full review on the Euro-Crime website.

This is book two in the adventurous books in the "Francis Meadows Mystery" Series. This is my first reading of the series. I was thrilled to read this book. The opening sets up the characters, and the places of interest. Even with not reading book one; I enjoyed today's reading. Francis is a Crime novelist, and was just heading home to the United Kingdom (Britain) when murder took one of the fellow cruise mates. I was a little lost on what Francis prefers when it was brought up on his preferences. I didn't know anything really about his wife who passed. I didn't really care one way or the other. But the sexual preferences of the other cruise mates became a factor. I enjoyed all of the telling of the other mates. Also Klaus was a ham of a character that I devoured with joy. The characters were very thought out. I kept thinking it reminded me of "Death on the Nile" by Agatha Christie, and so did Francis. It was a fun read. It reads like other British Mysteries. Long Chapters, and not many of them. That is my one downside. I was totally cruising along when the Final Reveal Chapter took all the wind out of my sails. The suspects were not at all who I thought they would be. But man that chapter was huge. A really good read for two days of my time

Ah, now this had that wonderful old school classic crime feel about it which I love. Creating an atmospheric amateur sleuth based story is not as simple as it sounds, but Mark McCrum excels at this. Never have I enjoyed a cosy so much, I usually go for thrillers with more brutal storylines, but I found that there was so much to appreciate here that I didn't miss the brutality and violence.

I was drawn to this due to the mystery being set aboard a cruise liner that is exploring the coast of Africa - Having been on a cruise in exactly that area and experiencing some of the safety precautions taken in this book e.g. no use of phones on deck in the evening where you are visible to pirates and heavily guarded onshore tours, It's evident that the author knows what he's talking about and has either experienced that himself or carried out extensive research. This gives a delightfully dark undertone to the proceedings and adds plenty of intrigue. Due to this everything feels very authentic and realistic. The writing is masterful, the cast of characters well drawn and compelling and the setting interesting.

Although this is the second book in the Francis Meadowes Mystery series, this works very well as a standalone, and I may well go back and read the preceding book which is set at a literary festival and has attracted many postitive reviews, so it looks like it will be another worthy time investment. A well deserved five-stars!

Many thanks to Severn House Publishers for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I really liked this book, it's a dark cozy with an interesting and unusual plot.
I was fascinated by the description of the life on a cruise and the different stories of the characters and their relationship.
It's quite fast paced, full of twists and turns, and it kept me guessing till the end.
The main character is likeable and I had no problems in understanding the story even if its' a second in a series.
The plot kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC

A locked "boat" mystery but boy would I not want to be on the Golden Adventurer! Francis Meadows is the classic cozy amateur investigator except that - and this is a big one- he's a man. The passengers on this ships are older so it's not unlikely that there might be a death but things really get out of hand. You'll learn a bit about luxury cruises and if you've been on one, you'll recognize some things. The individual characters are fairly stereotypical and the solution not too complex but I liked the setting. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a fast read that is perfect for travel.

The story starts with crime fiction author Francis Meadowes enjoying a free cruise along the west African coast on an upscale ship. He's a "guest lecturer" onboard the cruise, speaking to other passengers about writing crime fiction. In exchange for delivering the lecture, he travels for free.

Before long however he is investigating a couple of suspicious deaths aboard the ship, one of them being a "man overboard" (who is actually a woman). Under the auspices of the ship's captain, Francis undertakes an investigation. Then one of the crew dies onboard from a snake bite, raising the death toll to three. His investigation comes to a dramatic conclusion on a small island off the coast of the African nation of Guinea-Bissau.

It's an edgy story, perhaps being too gritty to be a true cozy mystery. There is the closed environment of the ship at sea with a defined set of suspects: an eclectic assortment of cruise passengers on a high-end cruise. The story includes plenty of background about cruise ships (for example the procedures to follow when someone falls overboard) and how crime is reported and investigated when a ship is in international waters. The social experience of cruising is captured well, the interaction amongst a group of strangers randomly brought together on a ship is on full display. Anyone who has been on a cruise will recognize the group scenes onboard and on the off-ship expeditions.

There's some social commentary too. The contrast between the crew quarters and the passenger areas is a topic, as is the intersection between first world passengers and third world people and places they visit.

Francis is an attractive protagonist and does a good job of narrating the story. He makes a good amateur detective.

It's a entertaining and intelligent read: recommended.


Thanks to Severn House Publishers and Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy of the book. The views expressed above are mine.

I read this book on a cross country flight which seemed appropriate for the travel setting of this book. The protagonist, Francis Meadowes, has been invited to lecture abroad a exclusive cruise ship. But before he gets a chance to give his presentation, one of his fellow passengers is found dead. Soon after, a second one falls over board. At first the captain suggests the first death is natural causes and the second is an accident, but then he soon has Francis investigating the crimes along with one of the expedition directors.

The plot and characters were fairly light weight - I felt there were some early clues given that pointed to the killers. And some of the secondary characters seemed very stereotypical. Still, it was an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours on a plane. 3 1/2 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley and voluntarily chose to review.

This was a very disappointing read. The main character is a bit petulant and not terribly likable. And if the Australian character called him “Mate” one more time, I was ready to throw my iPad across the room. Not a great mystery and the characters were a bit stereotypical. Preview copy courtesy of NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House Publishing for the eARC.
This was an enjoyable book, with interesting, scary and fun facts about cruising. Since I don't like the idea of being stuck in the middle of the ocean with many strangers, it was nice being able to do so in the safety of my reading chair!
Francis Meadowes, a mystery writer, is offered a free cruise up the coast of Africa in return for a lecture on the history of the mystery genre. The Golden Adventurer is a small cruise ship, catering to wealthy, mostly elderly clients, many of whom are repeat customers.
When the death of an elderly woman is deemed suspicious, Francis gets involved in the investigation. Soon thereafter a young, beautiful woman is missing - did she jump overboard in a drunken haze or was she pushed? Nerves frayed, the passengers partake in the daily free cocktails even more enthusiastically. The ship stops at exotic locales as scheduled, but the Captain refuses to involve local police forces until they arrive in The Bahamas, where the ship is registered. When another death occurs (a poisoning by a deadly snake), Francis feels his help is no longer wanted, but continues to investigate on his own.
The cast of multinational characters is diverse and occasionally funny, very well drawn. I really enjoyed the factoids on cruising and the profiles of the cruising public; not always flattering! I didn't get the slightest craving to sample the life, but recommend this book to anyone who wants an intelligent, adventurous read.

I have seen snippets in the news that there are more "quiet deaths" on cruise ships than we would expect. And, that the cruise industry keeps very quiet about it. So, the premise of this book was both fun and interesting for me. Expecting a fair degree of accurate background information, I expected to be both entertained and informed.

It didn't work for me from either perspective. Mr. McCrum's writing was just too workman-like for me. I felt like I was getting an hour-by-hour and day-by-day catalogue of an amateur investigation. It was neither informative or entertaining for me.

I'm not sure what went wrong.
. . . perhaps the writing was too expository;
. . . the characters were too sketchy, or too much a caricature of well-heeled "cruisers";
. . . and, even the exoticism of the cruise destinations came off as cartoonish to me.

The premise of the book appealed to me, but not the execution. Netgalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What is better than a holiday? A holiday complete with murder. Cruising to Murder turns the traditional manor house mystery on its ear by using a luxury cruise as the setting. Isolated from authorities with a multitude of suspects on board, author/sleuth Francis Meadowes is tasked with solving two puzzling deaths - that of a wealthy woman who fell overboard and that of a well liked elderly woman in good health who died in her sleep.

Cruising to Murder has a lot to offer readers. Not only is the story compelling, it also touches on a variety of modern issues - particularly our nonsensical tendency to categorize people based on their color, and the way we judge situations based on ingrained social expectations. Prejudice plays a role, less as a motivator, more as a way of viewing situations. It shows how easily people are deceived.

Mark McCrum’s Cruising to Murder is an excellent mystery with a charming lead. Francis Meadowes is an intelligent man and an easy one to like. I look forward to reading more of McCrum’s novels.

5 / 5

I received a copy of Cruising to Murder from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

— Crittermom

I am always drawn to mysteries on cruise ships and so I was delighted to receive a review copy of this. The main character is a crime writer, Francis Meadowes, who has been invited on board the Golden Adventurer in order to give lectures on his subject to the cruise passengers. The ship is well named, as most of the passengers are rich and elderly; partaking in the serious business of cruising, with many attempting to visit as many countries as they can. Apparently, to these cruise ship aficionados, the more exotic the countries visited the better and this cruise is flirting with danger on the African coast. With passengers reminded not to use mobile phone screens on deck at night, so as not to attract modern day pirates, there is a delightful frisson of danger, offset by heavily guarded tours on shore, five course meals and non-stop entertainment.

Soon after starting this, I became aware that this was not the first book in the series. Indeed, a little investigation of my own soon uncovered an earlier book featuring Meadowes; “The Festival Murders,” which was set at a literary festival. I am not usually a fan of reading books out of order, but this worked as a stand-alone novel – although, if you too prefer to start a series at the beginning, then go back and read the first book first.

This is very much an old fashioned, classic mystery. You have a closed environment, with a cast of suspects and motives. It begins with an old lady, dead in her cabin. She was elderly, but foul play is suspected and, soon, there are further suspicious deaths on board. As well as the murder mystery, there is the excellent setting of a luxury cruise, the problems of being in international waters, with all that that entails, and some well researched background on the dangers of being on a ship, however luxurious. Overall, an impressive, interesting and well written mystery, with a good cast of characters and an interesting setting. The previous book, set at a literary festival, is also sure to gain the approval of mystery lovers. I received a copy of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Excellent ! Entertaining, enjoyable will keep you turning the pages right to the end .
Blog post scheduled for release date.

An extremely enjoyable murder mystery from Mark McCrum! Set aboard a cruise ship where the protagonist, amateur sleuth Francis, is to give a series of lectures in his specialised field of the Golden Age of Crime - appropriate, as it's not long before the body count on board begins to rise in alarming rapidity. Throughout, we are treated to some delicious, and some not so, descriptions of various ports of call. The travel writing expertise of the author is evident. Characters are credible and Francis a likeable chap. Great fun and eminently readable.

Well written mystery, one which kept me wanting more at the turn of every page. It isn't your modern crime thriller and not quite cosy - just a entertaining read with a "twist in the tail" ending.

I believe that this is the second book featuring crime writer turned amateur investigator, Francis Meadowes. I haven't read the first book in the series, but this seems to work well as a stand alone novel.

The story follows Meadowes as he embarks on an African cruise as a guest speaker. After an elderly passenger dies and other suspicious events occur, Francis turns detective and tries to prove that a murderer is loose on board the high end luxury cruise ship.

I enjoyed this book and read it quickly, keen to find out what happened. I did guess some of the ending, but not all the details, so there are enough twists and red herrings to keep a reader entertained until the end. However, I did find myself irritated by the repeated use of "mate" to signify an Australian character and found some of the events a little unbelievable.

Overall, I'd say this is an enjoyable and light read. For those of us who like cruise holidays, there will also be familiarity with the routines and characters you find on board. A good read.