Murder on the Celtic
Allen, Conrad.
New York: St. Martin's Minotaur, 2007.
This is the eighth book in this cozy mystery series. In this fun romp, George and Genevieve are crossing from New York to London in 1910. They're set to look for the usual cardsharks and petty thieves when they receive a police bulletin that there might be a murderer on board. Their usual shipboard modus operandi is in effect and the couple both find themselves dodging unwanted attentions from the opposite sex. The celebrity du jour is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which ties in the author's detective writing and interest in occultism. His first edition manuscript of A Study in Scarlet is stolen and the pair must divide their time wisely.
This is a fun and light read for the most part. Fun dialogue and good descriptions of the ship create an inviting atomosphere. It does show the slightly darker side of those who were turned back at Ellis Island with several characters from steerage providing human interest to the story. I was mostly caught up in the mystery and was a little suprised at the solution.
Allen is a pseudonym for Edward Marston. He writes in many different eras of history. I'm going to have to look into some of his other work to see if he does for trains what he does for ocean liners.