(6/10 stars)

“Well, we’ve got a bit of a puzzle now, no mistake.”

When a chance meeting with a stranger on a train offers Harry Morrison the opportunity of a lifetime, he grabs it. Charles Bristow has a brilliant new business idea: refurbish outdated ocean liners for inexpensive cruises that move continuously around the British Isles. Rather than a fixed cruise, passengers can hop on or off as they like, more like a floating hotel. Harry’s expertise as a travel agent will be key to making this plan work. Once they’ve added a third partner, bored millionaire John Stott, the enterprise seems foolproof.

Disagreements start cropping up between the partners almost immediately, however, and a competitor is trying to beat them to the market. Tensions rumble beneath the surface, until murder finally strikes during a cruise. Inspector French must plumb these murky depths in search of the truth. Continue reading “Fatal Venture (1939) by Freeman Wills Crofts”