EVERY BODY ON DECK

A private eye’s plum job turns sour when her client cuts her loose.

Getting hired by Natasha Van Cleef is the second-biggest thing ever to happen to Savannah Reid (Killer Reunion, 2016, etc.), ranking just a notch below getting married to her longtime best friend, DS Dirk Coulter. Not only does the mystery writer want Savannah as her bodyguard during a fabulous Alaskan cruise, but she’s happy to host Savannah’s husband, brother, brother’s fiancee, mother- and father-in-law, grandma, and two gay friends aboard the Arctic Queen for an all-expenses-paid wilderness adventure. It seems that Natasha’s been getting some threatening letters, and she wants Savannah to make sure all goes smoothly while Natasha plays writer-in-residence aboard ship. But her relationship with her client begins to fray after Savannah’s first visit to Natasha’s luxury suite, where she witnesses the author’s husband firsthand as he tries it on with his wife’s bosomy assistant, Olive Kelly. Natasha bridles at the suggestion that her Colin has anything to do with the hate mail. By the time the ship docks at Saaxwoo, the Van Cleefs have ditched their security detail. As they round up a battered Bronco to drive out to the glacier after their clients, Savannah and Dirk are already alarmed. And when they smell smoke ahead of them, they’re beginning to think that what started as an adventure is about to end as a disaster.

Savannah and Dirk’s spousal sparring would pack more of a punch if they weren’t squashed in by the whole mishpocha. Here’s hoping their next outing will give them more room to romp.