A Fatal Crossing
It’s 1924, and Tim Birch, a ship’s officer aboard the SS Endeavour, is assigned the unenviable task of assisting Detective James Temple in his investigation of an elderly passenger’s death. The Endeavour is not a happy ship—the captain doesn’t want to hear Birch’s warnings that the death wasn’t accidental, Temple makes it abundantly clear that he wants no help from Birch, and Birch is laboring under the cloud of a personal tragedy.
The four-day cruise from Britain to New York grows more dangerous for Birch and Temple, and the revelation of grand larceny adds an additional factor into the mix. As they near their destination, the two investigators sift through a series of alibis, cryptic messages, and dangerous characters to piece together a solution to the crime spree.
Author Tom Hindle presents an interesting whodunit, but it’s not without a few rough edges. On a luxury liner during the Roaring Twenties, setting plays a significant role in the story. Additional descriptive details and impressions would give readers a greater feel for that luxury and the time period. Also, with the exception of Birch, we get a fairly shallow, sometimes repetitive characterization of the different players. Tighter writing and more vivid details would make the novel more enjoyable.
