Day Four

Disaster strikes a pleasure boat, The Beautiful Dreamer, on the fourth day of a Caribbean cruise in Lotz’s tedious thriller, her second novel for adults (after 2014’s The Three). A young woman is murdered in her cabin, The Beautiful Dreamer comes to a standstill, its satellite positioning and radio systems go down, and normally reliable rescue boats fail to appear. Trapped with little to amuse them, the passengers increasingly become enthralled with Celine del Ray, a celebrity medium on board. The situation steadily deteriorates: food becomes scarce, ghosts and demons start appearing, and a virulent sickness spreads among the crew and passengers. Some interesting side stories delve into the personal lives of those aboard, but these are overwhelmed by graphic and repetitive descriptions of the virus, the ship’s unsterile conditions, the ghostly apparitions, and vomit, as well as by too many undeveloped characters. The murder mystery’s precipitous and unconvincing resolution will disappoint those readers who persevere to the end. [em]Agent: Oli Munson, A.M. Heath & Company. (June) [/em]