Mounting an investigation, the pair uncover the theft of a priceless painting, and encounter a string of suspects with secrets to hide. Birch and Temple's relationship is acrimonious from the start. Temple sees Birch as a hindrance, inserting himself into the investigation where he is not needed. In return, Birch doesn't trust Temple, mainly due to his evasive answers as to his purpose in sailing to New York and his reaction when he meets one of the steerage passengers. 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. The characters are not especially likeable and I'm not sure there's a single one you can trust but they're all very well crafted. I could picture each and every one. Two Danish girls disappeared without a trace on a ferry to England in 1985. Then, many years later a photo of them is found in an old suitcase in a second-hand shop in the small English seaside town Brine.

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. Nora, the main character, is a nice change from those police officers who have more problems with their personal lives in the span of one book than the average person will ever have in their entire lives. It's also cool to have thrillers were the main character isn't working for the police but is a journalist, even if it means she'll completely disregard everything the police say. Liked that she had a fairly normal relationship with her family and while I wasn't too into the relationship drama, it didn't play too big a role.Speaking of the photo and what happened to the two girls in it. Wow. I was not expecting that at all. I don’t want to say anything here about what happened because I hate spoiling books for other people. But I love books where I don’t see the ending coming. 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. With just days remaining until they reach New York, and even Temple’s purpose on board the Endeavour proving increasingly suspicious, Birch’s search for the culprit is fraught with danger. Birch is an intriguing character. He's reeling from a recent family trauma, the details of which emerge over the course of the narrative, and his resulting taciturn introversion ostracises him from the majority of his fellow officers and crewmen aboard Endeavour. Nevertheless, he makes an intuitive and increasingly engaged associate for the acerbic Temple as together they view the body, search a cabin and interview several passengers who may have known the victim. Overall it’s a good read and it was an entertaining few hours but it just didn’t have the depth and complexity I was hoping for.

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 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. I initially rated this three stars but I decided that a book that made me let out a groan [ frustrated, not sexual] loud enough to shake awake my co-workers at our late shift at the psych ward deserves two stars max.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 requested this ARC from NetGalley last year, it was what prompted me to read the author's debut, A Fatal Crossing, which I DNF'd two thirds in. I thought it only fair to give The Murder Game a fair shot, but as 20% in, have decided to also DNF. For the above reasons, whilst I genuinely did enjoy the story and wanted to know how it ended, I do not think I would have persevered to the end had I not felt obliged to leave an informed review.

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. 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. The suspects? Everyone involved in the murder mystery party. From the actors, the guests, to the staff in Hamlet Hall. What a great debut! This is a very credible and immensely satisfying read that had moments that remind me of actual crime that have occurred in Australia, specifically in Perth WA. I won’t share the details as I don’t want to influence your reading or give away any spoilers but after you have read it, tell me if anything in this novel resonated with crimes in your region.

Days earlier, she had accidentally come across, in a second-hand leather suitcase she’d bought on a whim, some Polaroid photos of young women in similar poses. The photo of two girls on a Danish Ferry rang faint bells, and research proved it was a hitherto unknown photo of the very last time that teenagers Lisbeth Morgensen and Lulu Brandt had been seen before their disappearance in 1985. Nora’s editor agrees there might be a story in it, so she gets the go ahead to investigate. Lone Theils δημιουργεί ένα σκοτεινό περιβάλλον που μυρίζει ιδρώτα, ούρα και απελπισία. Παράλληλα, η συγγραφέας διαγράφει τη φθονερή φιγούρα ενός εγκληματία που αρέσκεται στο να εμπαίζει τους συγγενείς των θυμάτων και που δείχνει ότι απόλαυσε την κάθε απελπισμένη στιγμή που έζησαν τα θύματα του με το φόβο στην ψυχή. When an elderly gentleman is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, Tim believes it to be a terrible accident, but James Temple, a surly Scotland Yard detective, is suspicious right from the start, and he’s determined to investigate. The ship’s Captain isn’t happy about this, it wouldn’t do to have the passengers believing there’s a killer on board, but he allows Temple to proceed as long as Tim shadows him as he carries out his interviews. With Tim’s personal problems though, he’s possibly not strong enough mentally, to deal with the proceedings. 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. A strong, determined, feisty female protagonist, the crimes credible, heinous, prevalent and feature in our news headlines far too often and a fabulous twist or two that will surprise the most hardened crime fiction reader. This is a fabulous read and I cannot wait for the next book in this series to arrive in my letterbox.