It’s an all-women (with three exceptions) writing cruise organized by popular author Payton and including classes by Payton and other authors, including the main character Belle, a ghostwriter.
Once everyone is aboard and they’ve set sail into the Atlantic, there are two attempted murders and one successful murder, then another, then another. The ship is turned for home as Belle and the on-board doctor Joan set about figuring out what’s going on.
There are a myriad of characters, some of whom read like stock or stereotypes for me. The storyline, although it did seem to stagger along at times versus picking up steam, was interesting. Everyone trapped on the ship until they get home, but was the intended victim the person who actually died first? Was that victim killed in error? Who is the killer? Will Belle solve the mystery before the ship returns to harbour and the police take over?
The story kept me reading, but I found many of the characters lacked either depth or redeeming qualities, including the main character. Belle, who never felt part of the “in” group, nevertheless seemed incapable of not being judgmental of others, constantly labelling them and making snarky asides about them. There was something wrong with everyone who didn’t hold the same view as she did.
From a style perspective, although Kemper Donovan writes well, I quickly became tired of having Belle’s comments popped into parentheses in the middle of sentences. From a grammar perspective, the run-on sentences lifted me out of the story regularly.
3 stars
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