London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn’t worked out. She’s feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn’t be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way.
... deliciously suspenseful ... Readers will be enchanted by the period charm of Hare's ocean liner setting and will swoon as Lena gets to know Will, a Black musician ... Readers will enjoy playing sleuth, racing to figure out who did it, how and why, even as they ponder the ultimate question: Will Lena survive the trip to New York unscathed?
Hare’s well-crafted second novel oozes glamour ... Did someone mention Agatha Christie? Yes, but with the welcome bonus of subtle reflections on race and class.
Louise Hare’s second novel is a lovingly-told yarn. She creates a likeable main character in a mystery which does not airbrush uncomfortable truths about the past. Instead, race and class are well integrated into the plot, although the theme of 'passing' could have been developed even further ... At times the pace feels slow, with long descriptions, particularly of food, that interrupt rather than deepen the sense of atmosphere. There is a lot to recommend in this homage to the Golden Age of mystery writing, but it could have benefited from a sharper editorial knife to bring out the kernel of an intriguing book.
