The Moonlit Murders
(A Fen Churche Mystery #3)
by Fliss Chester
When a journey to New York is interrupted by missing diamonds and a body in the lifeboat, there is only one woman who can help: Fen Churche!
1945. Fen Churche follows her dreams and sails for New York. She books passage on a steamship from France to America, excited to dance the night away in the glamorous ballroom and play games on deck. Nothing will stand in the way of her trip, not even when an eccentric heiress’s diamond tiara goes missing…
Looking forward to relaxing with her favorite crossword puzzles, Fen’s quiet passage is horribly disrupted by another crime – this time a murder. Fen finds Genie, a young actress bound for Broadway, strangled in her own cabin. With no police onboard and a frantic captain, Fen decides to do a little snooping of her own.
When another body turns up, hidden in a lifeboat, whilst the ship is in the middle of the Atlantic, Fen feels sure these dreadful crimes are linked. Through her sleuthing, she meets light-hearted lieutenants returning from the war, charming cabin boys, and snooty first-class passengers who look down their nose at her. But it isn’t until Fen realizes that one person is missing from the passenger list that she is finally on the murderer’s trail.
With only rolling waves and sea mists for company, can Fen solve the case before they dock in New York and the killer escapes for good?
You’ll be utterly hooked from page one of this warm and witty cozy! An absolute treat for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Jacqueline Winspear.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
I was told by Mama that I would be much better placed to marry well if I knew how to get out of a motorcar without flashing my own undercarriage.
Handsome? Heavens no, but he had two of the best qualities you can hope for in a husband…. a vast fortune and a dicky heart!
She’d scare Hades himself away from the Underworld… Churchill should have sent her into Berlin and cut the whole thing short years ago.
My Review:
This was a well-plotted, unpredictable, and slowly unwinding cozy mystery with lush descriptions and active storylines involving new friendships, post-WWII recovery challenges, transcontinental ocean cruise travel and hijinks, shopping and dining fare in three countries, crossword puzzle development, burglary, and murder. I couldn’t even begin to solve this one as Ms. Chester had me addled and intrigued with her well-contrived schemes, yet the clues were there, just to skillfully buried among the richly detailed and abundant aspects described in each crime scene and series of events for the little pea in my brain to put together.
The characters were an interesting and unusual grouping of personalities and circumstances with Americans including a radio showbiz entertainer, a wealthy American heiress, and her vile Aunt, who was a detestable and snobbishly elitist old dragon who bossed and insulted everyone and got away with it; as well as a Nazi scientist quietly hiding in cabin #13. I adore Fen Churche and her honorable and straightforward nature and keep hoping a romance will spark for her soon with the deliciously handsome and highly likable Viscount. I do loves me a HEA.
About the Author
The Moonlit Murders sounds like my kind of book. A bit of historical fiction mixed with mystery… Heaven.
This sounds delightful. Glad you enjoyed it. Great review.
Another for my TBR. Great review.
Sounds well written. Glad you enjoyed it.
Sounds lovely. I’m always rooting for a romance too.