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

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November 1924. The Endeavour sets sail to New York with 2,000 passengers – and a killer – on board . . . I really wanted to enjoy this book. I love Agatha Christie so a murder mystery set in the 1920’s sounded right up my street. Unfortunately I didn’t find myself particularly engaged in the story, or really caring about the outcome. I enjoyed what I read of this more than the A Fatal Crossing, because it felt more focused and more clearly plotted. However, there are a lot of characters and perspectives though, which I was struggling to keep on top of, but this may have improved had I continued to read.

This book was actually such a fun book to read, it was a bit slow at some places, but I think it has the perfect amount of tension and cliffhangers between each hour of the night were delectable I was at the edge of my seat whenever I finished a part and had to sleep because I had to wake up early the next day. There were some incredible twists to the plot, none more than the final twist. I would never have seen that coming and I really didn't sense any foreshadowing even on reflection. Raymond maybe had me wondering at something but I wasn't sure what.

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Globalt στο Λονδίνο, αγοράζει μια βαλίτσα από ένα παλαιοπωλείο όπου θα ανακαλύψει στο εσωτερικό της διάφορες φωτογραφίες κοριτσιών. Ανάμεσα σε αυτές υπάρχει και μια που απεικονίζει δύο κοπέλες από τη Δανία οι οποίες είχαν εξαφανιστεί το 1985 όταν ταξίδευαν με φεριμπότ προς την Αγγλία. Λόγω επαγγέλματος θα ξυπνήσει μέσα της η δημοσιογραφική περιέργεια και θα αρχίσει να σκαλίζει την ιστορία των δύο κοριτσιών με τις έρευνες της να την οδηγούν σε αλεπάλληλα ταξίδια ανάμεσα στην Κοπεγχάγη και στο Λονδίνο, σε αμέτρητες συνεντεύξεις με μάρτυρες αλλά και σε συναντήσεις με άτομα από το παρελθόν της που θα την οδηγήσουν τελικά σε έναν serial killer που εκτίει ισόβια κάθειρξη στο Γουλφ Χολ, μια πασίγνωστη βρετανική φυλακή. Η αναζήτηση της αλήθειας για την εξαφάνιση των δύο κοριτσιών και για το τι ακριβώς τους συνέβη θα αποδειχθεί τρομακτικά επικίνδυνη όσο θα πλησιάζει προς αυτήν… And I think one reason that I had a little difficulty with the book was Nora's "relationship" with her childhood friend Andreas. Their "dance" through the book bore me, and I mentally rolled my eyes every time Nora wistfully thought about Andreas, or when he happened to see her come home with a male friend who had drunk a little too much and became jealous and went away angry. The scene where they had to share a bed because a cat had given birth to kittens in her bed was almost too much for me. I have absolutely nothing against a little romance in the novel. But, Andreas and Nora just didn't work out for me. Temple and Birch make an interesting partnership, particularly as it’s a very reluctant one! As an intelligent, competent and experienced detective, Temple is not at all happy about having an inept and bumbling ship’s officer shadowing his every move, saying the wrong things and interfering with the investigation. Birch is our narrator, and as we only see things from his point of view, Temple comes across as bad-tempered, rude and hostile, but there are hints that there’s more to each character than meets the eye. While Temple’s past and his reasons for boarding the Endeavour are shrouded in mystery, we learn that Birch is haunted by the disappearance of his young daughter Amelia and the breakdown of his marriage. There is certainly plenty to like about "The Murder Game" and the influence of those aforementioned authors is plainly evident. There is a nice prologue to set the scene and introduce the key protagonists in true "Golden Age" mystery fashion. The setting, too, is very Christie-esque and I liked the way the author made use of a 1920s themed murder mystery game to create a mystery within a mystery. Not only did this allow homage to be paid to that classic era, but it also reminded me of the technique employed by Anthony Horowitz in his "Magpie Murders" and "Moonflower Murders" books. It won't escape fans of Horowitz that there is something of a "Midsomer Murders" feel to this story too. Waar het om draait, is dat ze tussen deze foto's een foto vindt van twee Deense meisjes die jaren terug waren verdwenen op een ferry tussen Denemarken en Engeland. De koffer waarin de foto's zaten, leidt haar naar een beruchte seriemoordenaar die echter ondertussen al een tijdje in de beruchte Wolf Hall gevangenis zit. Tijdens de zoektocht van Nora komt ze echter ook zelf het gevaar tegen en zo mondt het verhaal uiteraard uit in een spannend einde dat goed is opgebouwd.

When an elderly gentleman is found dead at the foot of a staircase, ship’s officer Timothy Birch is ready to declare it a tragic accident. But James Temple, a strong-minded Scotland Yard inspector, is certain there is more to this misfortune than meets the eye. For some unknown reason (most likely my inability to read a synopsis properly) I thought this was going to be a historical who dunnit in the style of Agatha Christies And Then There Were None but while there are some similarities it's a little bit different. For one thing it's set in the present day with a group of residents from a small village, and a few unexpected guests, attending a murder mystery party on New Year's Eve at the local hotel. But at least, that made him have something in common with the other characters because they were just as flat. When I say flat, I mean Ewan-McGregor-in-Trainspotting-flat ( physically speaking!!). Birch is supposed to be more interesting because the reader learns early on that SOMETHING tragic happened in this past that he is still not over yet. All we know is that it’s a familial tragedy that makes him alienated from the rest of the crew, boohoo. I was looking forward to reading The Murder game after reading the authors first novel The fatal crossing and enjoyed it. The captain and crew assume that the passenger has met his death accidentally by missing his step on the stairs but, aboard the Endeavour is a detective from Scotland Yard, James Temple who is suspicious about the death. Temple and Tim Birch one of the ship's officers are asked to work together on the investigation.

I had high hopes for this book. I’m a big Agatha Christie fan and I love settings where the suspects are maintained together such as on a ship like this one. Globalt στο Λονδίνο, Νόρα Σαν αγοράζει από ένα παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο μια μεταχειρισμένη βαλίτσα. Ανοίγοντας τη, ανακαλύπτει κάτι πραγματικά παράξενο. Εντός της βαλίτσας υπάρχουν κάποιες φωτογραφίες πολαρόιντ. Μεταξύ αυτών η δημοσιογράφος διακρίνει τη φωτογραφία δύο κοριτσιών από τη Δανία που εξαφανίστηκαν ενώ ταξίδευαν σε ένα φέρι-μποτ στην Αγγλία το 1985. I thought I would really enjoy this book, as the quote on the cover claims fans of Agatha Christie will like it. The story opens with the death of an elderly gentleman on board ‘Endeavour’, a ship crossing to New York in 1926. A ship’s officer, Timothy Birch, tells the story of how he investigates, alongside a Scotland Yard officer (James Temple) also on the voyage. It’s a story that crosses the boundaries of First, Second and Third Class passenger areas, has a cast of many suspects, and is much more involved than it first seems…

alter ego της συγγραφέως, στο επαγγελματικό κομμάτι τουλάχιστον. Έχοντας εργαστεί και η ίδια ως ανταποκρίτρια εφημερίδας, η Theils προικίζει την ηρωίδα της με το δημοσιογραφικό δαιμόνιο και τον τρόπο ανάπτυξης της έρευνας που πιθανότατα βοήθησε και την ίδια στην καριέρα της. Set in 1924, A Fatal Crossing is in the golden age style of crime writing and it has a definite nod to Agatha Christie’s work. It goes along at a fine pace with a clever ending that I loved. I thought it was an excellent historical crime mystery. Lone Theils. Ένα χορταστικό, από κάθε άποψη, θρίλερ με μια συναρπαστική και περίπλοκη ιστορία που κερδίζει τις εντυπώσεις. We also meet a whole range of people – who between them have a whole host of secrets! Not many of them were very nice people, but that’s fine as I was convinced that each of them in turn was the killer. I honestly suspected everyone – except there’s no way I’d have predicted the ending of the novel. I was drawn to A Fatal Crossing first by the cover, then when I saw that it was a Golden Age-style mystery novel set at sea in the 1920s, I was even more interested!The whole story takes place over a four day period in November 1924 as the cruise liner Endeavour approaches New York from Southampton with two thousand passengers and crew on board. When an elderly man is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the ship’s captain assumes – and hopes – that it’s an accident. However, James Temple, a Scotland Yard inspector, happens to be one of the passengers on the voyage and, after examining the body, he is convinced that the old man has been murdered. The captain gives Temple permission to investigate the crime, but only if he agrees to be accompanied by one of the ship’s officers, Timothy Birch. While a diligent officer, Birch is considered a recluse. His behaviour since returning from leave has alienated him from the other officers. The reason, we learn, is that he is haunted by the disappearance of his young daughter, missing for over two years, for which he blames himself, and the subsequent breakdown of his marriage. A piece of yellow ribbon he continually plays with is the only connection to the daughter he may never see again. His inability to move on from self-blame is seen as a weakness, but sheds light on what motivates him, his purpose in heading to New York and what awaits him there.

When the body of an elderly man is found at the bottom of a flight of stairs, Timothy Birch, ship's officer on the Endeavour sailing from Southampton to New York, becomes the sleuthing partner of James Temple, a Scotland Yard Detective. Temple is adamant that the death is a murder, but the ship's captain is reluctant to view it as anything but an accident. However, Temple prevails and the captain agrees to an investigation – but only if it is kept secret and that Birch accompany Temple as he interviews passengers and crew. The storyline ensures that the reader is kept entertained and towards the end, there was a scenario that seemed to present itself to me as a possible twist, however, I was completely wrong - there certainly was a twist, an almighty twist at that, but not the one I was expecting!

I liked the police at Scotland Yard, and I hope that the follow-up books will include Nora involved with them in more cases! News of the death of a passenger travels rapidly among the passengers, raising speculation as to the elderly man's identity and cause of death. The Endeavour's Captain, McCrory, is on his retirement voyage and is keen for the matter to be cleared up with the minimum of fuss and inconvenience to himself and his passengers. However, one passenger demands an audience with the Captain, identifying himself as a Scotland Yard detective James Temple, en route to New York on "police business", the nature of which he refuses to divulge. He raises certain suspicious anomalies that indicate that the passenger's death may not be as simple as the accident that the Captain is so keen to assume. While adamant that the passengers must not be unduly disturbed, Captain McCrory reluctantly accedes to Temple's insistence upon undertaking preliminary investigations, but only on the basis that ship's officer Timothy Birch accompany him at all times. As a lifelong fan of Agatha Christie and any kind of murder mystery set in a hotel or a manor house this book instantly appealed to me. The author is clearly a fan as well, as scattered throughout are subtle nods to the Queen of Crime and her works. The party is thrown by Will, a young man who works in the antiques shop and among the guests are the head of the local tourist board and Damian White, a very rich man who has just bought the local lighthouse. Mr White is universally despised in the town and so when he is found dead in an upstairs room there are no shortages of suspects.