DEATH SETS SAIL

In Manolakas’ sequel,a trans-Atlantic cruise for mystery writers turns into a real-life whodunit.

It’s the mid-2010s, and Veronica Kennicott has four novels under her belt, although none have been published. She’s set to join her mentor/writing teacher, Mavis Osborne, and her fellow students on the Queen Anne for the Mystery Writers of the World awards cruise, which will set sail from New York City. However, before the five-day trip begins, police discover Prof. Emeritus Otto Stein of New York Greenwich University fatally bludgeoned in his lower Manhattan apartment; he was about to receive the MWW’s lifetime achievement award. If that’s not unnerving enough, one of the writers on the cruise suddenly dies of an apparent heart attack—and Veronica suspects foul play. When another passenger meets their end in similar fashion,it becomes clear that there’s a killer on board. Veronica, who solved a spate of murders in the past, teams up with a few others to investigate these new ones. This is Veronica’s second appearance, following Manolakas’ Hollywood Plays for Keeps (2014), although this entry works well as a standalone. The main character’s sleuthing skills are keen throughout as she examines bodies more thoroughly than the ship’s doctor and quickly narrows down the suspect list. Her motivations, though, feel questionable, as she seems more invested in proving herself to her fellow writers, especially published ones, and even aims to discredit one individual who dismisses her initial murder theory. Moreover, her narration often comes across as arrogant, as when she avoids her “never-to-be-published classmates” and asserts that one author, whose books she hasn’t read, will “never make a true mystery writer like me.” Still, Manolakas, as in her legal thrillers, composes engaging scenes of characters discussing and debating to reach a solution. She also includes a few intriguing secondary characters, including retired homicide detective-turned-writer Sean O’Flarity; Elias Vlisides,an author who incorporates Greek food into his stories; and an upbeat “Michigan housewife and mother of four” who writes “sex torture-murder books in her spare time.”

An often compelling investigation in an oceanic setting that’s somewhat marred by a self-absorbed protagonist.