In Roberts's fourth solid entry in his stylish cozy series set in the 1930s (after 2003's Hollow Crown
), Lord Edward Corinth, wealthy man-about-town, and journalist Verity Browne, a card-carrying communist, travel first-class aboard the Queen Mary
. Their first evening at sea, a guided tour reveals a carcass that will not appear on anyone's plate except that of the medical examiner when the ship puts into New York harbor: someone has murdered the valet of a senior British government official and hidden his body in a refrigeration compartment. Edward and Verity join forces to unmask the killer in a variation on the classic locked-room mystery. After a sluggish start, the liner and story pick up momentum, and Roberts amuses with his well-researched descriptions of the flagship of the Cunard Line and large cast of secondary characters. His lighthearted depiction of a hero and heroine with opposite political agendas and an unacknowledged, but mutual, attraction allows the two to explore both politics and the attraction without slowing the vague and rather haphazard plot. This is one to take on a cruise, or to read in front of a fire while others are on the slopes. (Dec. 4)
FYI:
Columbia has picked up the film option on
Hollow Crown.
