Rating: 3.5 Stars
Source: Blog Tour
Description: Former teen idol, Sandy Fairfax, is hoping to rebuild his career as a performer on a cruise ship, the SS Zodiac. His main concern is making peace with his sister,Celeste, who is also a musician and who he has talked into performing with him. But plans when he stumbles on a dead body in his dressing room and when someone objects to him nosing around it could have dangerous consequences.
Genre: Mystery
Why I Picked This Book: A murder on a cruise ship sounded fun and I'm not sure I've read a book that takes place on one before.
My Impression:
Pro: I really liked the Sandy Fairfax/Ernest Farmington character. He was very flawed, sometimes obnoxious but also genuinely nice. He came across as a very real character who was honest with himself about the highs and lows of being a former celebrity. I loved the cruise ship setting and the behind the scenes look that we as readers got through Sandy. I liked the relationship between Sandy and his sister as well as between Sandy and his fan club. The mystery itself is well done and well paced. While I had some hints as to the who it was still interesting to get there.
Con: One of the things that annoys me frequently in cozy mysteries is the amateur detective and Sandy is definitely an amateur detective. He asks questions from people who have no reason to answer him and sticks his nose where it doesn't belong regardless of personal risk and requests of law enforcement.
Overall: This is definitely a cozy with the amateur detective, a cast of somewhat over the top characters and mostly off screen violence. While it wasn't perfect it was an entertaining read . It is the 3rd in the series it can easily be read as a standalone.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: I would. This isn't an auto-buy series for me but I enjoyed this one enough that I would read others if the plot intrigued me.
Would I Recommend this Book?: I think cozy lovers would enjoy this one. It's definitely a unique premise.
Challenges Met?
I don't think I've read a book about a murder on a cruise ship before--no, wait. Maybe I did. It would have been years ago. This does sound interesting, with strong characters.
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I feel about it! Cohere may have been one but it was ages ago!
DeleteWhat a fun setting! And that's a great con, it is something that always puzzles me in mystery books and TV shows too. I'd be telling them hop it!
ReplyDeleteRight? Especially when they get all confrontational. Luckily he's at least likable so it works pretty well.
DeleteTaken right out of the headlines - there have been at least two murders that I can remember, along with the inevitable outbreaks of norovirus. But that's pretty boring ;) I prefer to read about cruise ships than actually be on them, along with thousands of other people.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I could handle a cruise either with all those people and I know my husband couldn't! He'd be helping the maintenance crew on day 2
DeleteI read the first one in this series and enjoyed it. I plan to read more and I love mysteries on cruise ships so I will definitely be reading this one.
ReplyDeleteI remember your review for that one. That's one of the reasons I was interested in this one.
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