I also find it interesting that while cruising is of course one of the safest forms of travel, every year several people go missing from cruise ships, and quite often, no one really gets to the bottom of what happened. I am a freelance journalist living in the South of France with my husband and two teenage children. We moved from London in 2009 so that the children could grow up bilingual and we could all ski more, and to enjoy a more relaxed pace of life. After this tragic event the ship is laid up (out of service) for two months, with just a skeleton staff. The staff are doing their best to move on - but when other deaths begin to occur they start to wonder more about Lola. Was she murdered? And why? During a New Year’s Eve party on a large, luxurious cruise ship in the Caribbean, the ship’s dancer, Lola, goes missing. To me it seemed absolutely enormous and I regularly lost my way trying to find my (rather lovely) stateroom, but since then obviously they have almost doubled in size!

I understand why the subplot was introduced and the ending tied everything together with an odd, lopsided and strange bow, but the book just wasn’t for me. I’m working on it at the moment and it’s set partly in an overwater resort in the Maldives and partly in the home counties. Again, lots of luxury, great food, and a few deaths! The Cruise didn’t let me down, just like last time I was completely engrossed in the chapters set in the past, while the present was puzzling and addictive.Two weeks later, the ship is o ut of service, laid up far from land with no more than a skeleton crew on board. And then more people start disappearing… This is the second novel I read by this author and after having been impressed with her debut novel The Chalet I couldn’t resist this new mystery set in another secluded location. I’ve not been on a cruise ship yet but the author seemed to know the ins and outs of life on a cruise ship so well and described it so vividly that I almost feel as if I’ve been on one after reading this novel. I had no idea where this story was going to lead me! No idea! What a journey it was! Jeez! Mind Blown! I love the twists and turns, and I did guess who one character was but not the one you think. Also – whenever I’ve been on a ship, I find the size of the ocean quite scary if I think about it too much! It’s so massive and powerful. If you go in, it’s quite possible to be swallowed up and never seen again.

There’s a possible death on the ship, a definite death and a missing person to get to grips with and like I said a revelation later in the book. I LOVED this fun, fast-paced murder mystery. Luxurious surroundings, great characters and dark secrets’ SUZY K QUINN The plot is as chilling as the setting: this is the perfect read for a cold winter's evening ’ ROBIN MORGAN-BENTLEY The plot flits between past and present and at first I did not understand how it all linked together. Once the truth is revealed and it all begins to come together it makes so much sense; it left me shook and made it impossible to put down. Some of these ships are so huge, I figured they’d be quite spooky and atmospheric with only a few people on them. My books so far have all had a luxury travel theme, so it fitted in well with that.The pacing was decent, the few twists were quite clever (if sometimes predictable), and the cruise-ship setting was convincing (as some of you may know, I love a good maritime setting - but equally, a bad one will really p*** me off). The stories in both timelines were engaging, and although the characters were superficial, I still wanted to know what would happen to them at each cliff-hanger, and would have read this in one sitting if I'd had that luxury. Catherine Cooper is a freelance journalist writing for many national newspapers and magazines, specialising in travel. She also makes regular appearances as a talking head on daytime TV. She lives in France with her husband and two teenage children. On the whole I enjoyed this story it had plenty of twists and turns but it was a little far fetched.

During a New Year’s Eve party on a large, luxurious cruise ship in the Caribbean, the ship���s dancer, Lola, goes missing.

Travel Guide

Although the book boasted eye-rolling moments, overall, it was an intriguing and entertaining read. We get to know Alice who works on the cruise ship and runs the restaurant and a few other characters also have their own chapters. I’ve said this every time I’ve read one of Catherine Cooper’s novels, but yet again she proves that she is one of the 21st Century’s answers to Agatha Christie! The Cruise is a wonderfully plotted and beautifully executed mystery that is so stunningly plausible, so therefore has all the hallmarks of a classic Christie endeavour. I was immediately drawn into the narrative and found myself hooked to discovering the truth. As with all good mysteries, I was eagerly detecting away myself, trying to piece together the various strands and work out what was occurring. I managed to work out snippets of the truth, but Cooper is such an accomplished writer that I couldn’t see the full picture until I reached the point she wanted me to!

Catherine Cooper writes some gripping plots and cool settings.I’ve been in a chateau and a chalet with this author and now a cruise. She would be great to go on holiday in real life as she would know all the dangers! We are always delighted to hear from authors. We are currently open for review requests and we are happy to review a wide variety of genres. Please submit your information below and we will be in touch asap.Overall it did feel like two different novels mushed together however it didn’t suit. There are ways to mash two story lines together however these two where very out of it. There’s something timeless, effortless and massively fun about Cooper’s writing and I swapped between reading the book and listening to the audio for this one. The audiobook has multiple cast members, which lends itself incredibly well to the format and helps it feel more like an old fashioned radio play. The narrator reading Antonio is especially expressive and really conveys both the desperation and anxiety wrapped up in that character. All of the cast are really good though and imbue each of the different characters with a distinct and clear voice. As the book moves through different timeframes and is told from various perspectives, this really made the audiobook stand out and it is definitely one of my favourite ones I’ve listened to. The cast of characters are fantastically drawn and as with her previous novels, Cooper treats her readers to a host of unlikeable, damaged, toxic and distinctly human individuals. I loved how everybody had a secret, everybody had a past and I relished trying to work out how they all slotted together. Needless to say, I didn’t guess exactly how these characters were linked, but when that final reveal came it all made perfect sense! This novel to its credit really did start strongly, the details of the luxury cruise liner and immediate murder really drew me in. By pleasing coincidence and neat symmetry, my first ARC of 2022 ( A Fatal Crossing) and this one, which will probably be my last, both happened to be thrillers set on cruise ships. Even aside from the setting, the two had a surprising amount in common - simplistic writing, far-fetched plot, and a ridiculous number of murders - but overall "The Cruise" was a much better book. New Year's Eve on an exclusive cruise ship what could possibly go wrong, well lots as it seems as a womans body is seen going overboard and Lola the dancer is nowhere to be seen.