Double trouble! Kitt Hartley has a twin sister. And is she as astute and as book obsessed as Kitt? Sorry. I won’t say. You’re going to have to read the book to find out!
This is the sixth Kitt Hartley Yorkshire mystery but this time it doesn’t take place in Yorkshire. It takes place on board a cruise ship. Why? Because an old friend of Kitt’s has been murdered and his body found washed up by a lighthouse. What does a cruise have to do with that, I hear you ask. Well the victim had been working on the cruise ship when he met his untimely demise. Murder? Cruises? Is this really cosy crime? What defines cosy crime from “uncosy“ crime? Well I think it’s where the private investigator suggests that her team bring larger handbags to accommodate their walkie-talkie radios! A problem that Miss Marple never had to contend with!
Followers of the series will find Kitt and her gang all there, in fine form, even though poor Grace gets seasick, and Halloran doesn’t play such a large a part in this story. A lot of focus is on Kitt’s sister, Rebecca, which is an interesting character development. But the story contains a lot of the hallmarks of this series. The banter that balances beautifully with the tensions associated with the crime itself. Fans of the series will lap it up in their hordes.
The cruise ship itself is populated with a variety of diverse characters which give a richness to the plot. In a way the action on a cruise ship almost makes it a locked room story but the story contains many twists and turns, red herrings and false leads. I guess, as well as being cosy crime it’s escapist crime because it doesn’t kid itself it’s grounded in reality. It’s entertaining and it’s fun and the reader is encouraged to try and unravel the mystery alongside what sometimes seems to me to be a ‘secret seven’ for grown-ups! I know there are only four of them but they pick up a few stragglers on the way so maybe it’s not as far-fetched! (Secret Seven? Okay, I’m old. Alright? It was a series by Enid Blyton many, many, many years ago. I loved them as a kid).
Some might feel it’s contrived but it works. The ends are all nicely tied up. And what could be cosier than that satisfying feeling where you can put the book down knowing that all is well. Until the next book that is…….
My thanks to Katya Ellis and Quercus Books for a gifted copy and a spot upon the blog blast.
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