and Mary, Queen of Scots, dies by the executioner’s axe, her head, shorn of its auburn wig, rolling across the platform. Will her death end the ceaseless plotting against Mary’s red haired cousin, Elizabeth?1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, is a time of more terror and triumph, not just for queen and court but for the whole of England. The turmoil is reflected in its theatres and under the galleries of inns like London’s The Queen’s Head where Lord Westfield’s Men perform. The scene there on grows even more tumultuous when one of the actors is murdered by a mysterious stranger during a brawl. Nicholas Bracewell, the company’s bookholder, a role far wider than mere producer, faces two immediate repercussions. The first is to secure a replacement acceptable to its temperamental star and chief shareholder Lawrence Firethorn. The second is to keep his promise to the dying Will Fowler and catch his killer. Soon further robberies, accidents, and misfortunes strike Lord Westfield’s Men even as their stage successes swell. Bracewell begins to suspect a conspiracy, not a single murderous act, but where lies the proof? Then the players are rewarded with the ultimate accolade an appearance at court and the canny bookholder senses the end to the drama is at hand… a b Pierce, J Kingston (September 1999). "The Many Roles of Keith Miles". January Magazine . Retrieved 14 December 2010. The action - a murder, assorted burglaries, a financial scam - takes place during the England to Egypt leg of the voyage.

For Marston fans I would say read this for the sake of completeness, but I would point anyone looking for a really good historical mystery story to one of Marston's other series'. When one of the guests on board is murdered, George and the staff on board have their hands full dealing with the situation. To avoid panic and damaging rumours for Cunard, George counsels they keep the murder quiet while investigating. George questions and searches, and gradually Genevieve becomes involved, too, though mostly peripherally till the violent confrontation at the end. The Home Front Detective Series, featuring Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy, set in WWI.

Murder on the Salsette

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. I liked the book well enough to want to read more about Dillman's adventures but not enough to want them right now this very minute. I had enjoyed the first book in Conrad Allen's cruise liner mysteries, but second installment Murder on the Mauretania manages to raise the bar even higher. The multi-layered mystery, the luxurious setting and atmosphere of the Mauretania's maiden voyage and the characters (and many suspects) was gripping from the get-go and I loved it.

Freeman, Pam (June 2002). "An interview with Keith Miles". Shropshire Council. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012 . Retrieved 14 December 2010.This is the best of the series so far, in my opinion! With this, I’m firmly on board with George and Genevieve’s future cruise ship adventures. 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. I like the idea of having a series set on liners and this one covers the maiden voyage of the Mauretania in her attempt to win the Blue Riband (it failed but was later to hold the eastern and western crossing record). On board are George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, who have an underlying love for each other going on, as undercover detectives to investigate any wrong doing that goes on. As with the first mystery ( Murder on the Lusitania), the author sets the stage effectively, giving readers a good look at life aboard a luxury ocean liner in 1907. Action moves between several characters in first class, second class and steerage, full of poor immigrants trying to make their way to America in spartan conditions.

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. 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. George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield are the detectives on the Mauretania as it heads from Liverpool via Queenstown to New York. The ship is carrying gold bullion and quite a few would-be thieves of differing professionalism, including one who steals silver. Dillman spots this thief almost at once, however the thief disappears and has to be searched for. Two Welsh ex-miners decide to break into the strongroom where the gold is kept only to find some cleverer thieves got there ahead of them.This started off with two interesting twists for me - our two detectives, who’ve always worked on luxurious Cunard vessels making Atlantic crossings, are now on the P & O liner Marmora - still luxurious, but making stops in Marseille, Egypt, and finally, Australia. EDIT: this is only the fifth book, sorry! There are more books in the series I enjoyed the book immensely and will read another in this series, probably the one set on the Lusitania