A Fatal Crossing: Agatha Christie meets Titanic in this unputdownable mystery

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I guess I just wanted to know who the murderer was but guess what, it’s only been three weeks since I finished the book and I have already forgotten, lmao. When an elderly gentleman is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, Tim believes it to be a terrible accident, but James Temple, a surly Scotland Yard detective, is suspicious right from the start, and he’s determined to investigate. The ship’s Captain isn’t happy about this, it wouldn’t do to have the passengers believing there’s a killer on board, but he allows Temple to proceed as long as Tim shadows him as he carries out his interviews. With Tim’s personal problems though, he’s possibly not strong enough mentally, to deal with the proceedings. The pace of the book was okay, it was neither super fast nor agonizingly slow, just perfect. I loved that we get different perspectives throughout the night, to get inside scopes to the different guests' mind and their anxiety through the night.

When the body of an elderly passenger is found at the bottom of a flight of stairs on board the Endeavour - a liner sailing from Southampton to New York - ship’s officer Birch is tasked with assisting an onboard police officer with his investigation. So begins the unravelling of a story which involves stolen paintings, long-standing grudges, and keeping up appearances. Set almost 100 years ago ( 1924), A Fatal Crossing deftly combines a sense of its period setting with the plot structure and dramatic devices that readers expect a century later. The characters were mostly unlikeable apart from Theo, one of the actors hired for the party, and Lily, the victim’s daughter. I would have quite liked to see them team up and try and solve the mystery together.With twist after gut-punching twist, A Fatal Crossing really is an ingenious thriller. Highly recommended.' M. W. Craven Whatever happened, it’s a mystery that is supposed to keep readers guessing and hopefully continue reading which I did! I ate this up and I can’t even say why!! This may be a closed-circle mystery, but it wasn’t suspenseful even though they were all trapped on one ship. Birch and Temple spend their days interviewing other passengers, potential suspects and witnesses, going from one cabin to the next while the only thing Temple does is be angry and shout at people and Birch always calms everyone down.

While it seems like it should be a fun night out not everyone's motives are what they seem. There's the troubled joint owner of the hotel who has devised a mystery game that has links to events from the past, a couple who have been protesting the redevelopment of the local lighthouse, the builder and his wife looking to improve their social standing and a journalist looking for a big story to get him out of town. Add to this a small cast of actors and a few unexpected attendees and it's a recipe for an interesting and murderous evening.Most of the characters are unlikable but that did not spoil the story at all if anything it only added more suspects to my list. From the despised to the pitied they are not only well-developed but realistic. I thought I would really enjoy this book, as the quote on the cover claims fans of Agatha Christie will like it. The plotting is clever and detailed – there’s even lots of recaps and explanations for those of us who need reminders to keep up! The disadvantage to this is that is does slow down the narrative a little at times (and it is quite a long book). I love a good closed circle murder mystery so this was right up my street and so well done. There's a small(ish) cast of not especially likeable characters, some secrets from the past, a few grudges and a lot of twists and turns.