This historical murder mystery set on an atlantic crossing in the 1920s is unlike my usual reading choices but it turned out to be a good choice nonetheless. This was a story that started out with what seemed to be a reasonably easy to fathom death that may or may not be a crime. All this evolved into an incredibly knotted web of shenanigans. I was hooked from the first chapter. Temple is furious that he has to put up with Birch, and so begins their acrimonious partnership in which the pair have 4 days to find a killer, after which the liner arrives in New York, the passengers disembark, and there will be no chance of resolving the case. Birch is a traumatised man who served in the war, left with a bullet wound in his shoulder. His daughter, Amelia, has been missing for 2 years, and his marriage to Kate has fallen apart. He blames himself, he is a shadow of the man he used to be, putting his hopes in finding Amelia on the only person he has any faith in, American Raymond, clinging to a yellow ribbon belonging to Amelia as if his life depended on it. Virtually all the crew, with the exception of Wilson avoid Birch, he is incapable of maintaining any relationship. Temple is a man with his own demons and secrets, he refuses to divulge what police business has him travelling on the liner.

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. My favourite westward Atlantic crossing detective novel is Peter Lovesey's The Fake Inspector Dew (1981), but A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle is a first-rate addition to the corpus [...] A very good debut novel' The Critic Read more Look Inside Details I didn’t finish the play, of course. For the simple, albeit slightly embarrassing reason that I’d hugely underestimated the amount of time it would take to write one. By the time I’d finished the first act, my friends and I had finished school and all moved on to university. The ending I personally thought was absolutely ridiculous. I was actually quite annoyed that i’d read so much just get that ending. Not only that but it left a major unanswered question and made me dislike the main character even more than i thought possible.

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I am not sure this is a novel that knows what sort of mystery it wants to be. The surface level details and tropes situate it more as a modern novel making nods towards Golden Age detective fiction. It begins with a list of notable passengers for instance and the WW1 experiences of one of the main characters, provides echoes of other modern day written, but 1920s-set mysteries, such as the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. However, the tone of the book, the dysfunctionality and unpleasantness of the characters, and the way they approach detective work, place the narrative more into the hard-boiled camp. Those seeking the former “Maisie Dobb” style may struggle with the central duo and might dislike the ending, whilst those who love the latter style may find the denouement more appealing with its Patricia Highsmith vibes but might not relish the long time the narrative takes to arrive at its destination. Timothy Birch, an officer on The Endeavour, carries a great burden with him. His daughter Amelia has been missing for two years, and he feels responsible, as he was away at sea at the time. His wife Kate had pleaded with him not to go, worrying that should something happen, she wouldn’t have anyone to turn to, and then of course it did. Kate has since left him, and he’s completely distraught. So A Fatal Crossing is lightweight and unconvincing, but sometimes charming. The ship, the Endeavour, has 2,000 people on board, but when a death is discovered, it is assumed to be an accident – an elderly man falling down a steep gangway and hitting his head. But James Temple, one of the passengers, pushes himself forward, claiming to be a Scotland Yard detective and saying it is murder. Temple is fantastically rude and arrogant to everyone he meets, including people he wants favours from, and while I’ve met many very rude successful people, this just doesn’t ring true. The ship’s captain, Captain McCrory, is on his last voyage, and is sublimely uninterested in the fact that there might be a murderer on board, both when Temple beards him in his cabin, and later when evidence mounts – and indeed when there is more violence. His attitude, too, is a bit hard to fathom – most ship’s captains in fact and fiction are all powerful and very concerned to maintain their authority, take all decisions and lead everything that’s going on. McCrory doesn’t seem to care less, but he does allocate a junior officer, Timothy Birch, a misfit with a big personal problem which gradually becomes clearer and more important to the story, to keep an eye on Temple and work with him as far as possible. Slated for in February 2022, Arrow publishing director Emily Griffin acquired world rights, including audio, in the book from Harry Illingworth at DHH Literary Agency. 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.

On the private island of Castello Fiore - surrounded by the glittering waters of Lake Garda - the illustrious Heywood family gathers for their son Laurence's wedding to Italian influencer Eva Bianchi.I really wanted to enjoy this book. I love Agatha Christie so a murder mystery set in the 1920’s sounded right up my street. Unfortunately I didn’t find myself particularly engaged in the story, or really caring about the outcome.

The story brought two key characters in Birch, the ship's officer and Temple, the policeman who happened to be on the boat; don't ever believe in coincidences. Birch really had my heartstrings with his rather tragic past and depressed nature. I liked him a lot and felt him to be the intergrity compass of the piece. Temple seemed shady from the start with a slice of maybe he's okay. I was first drawn to this book because of the beautiful cover, it’s very in keeping with the story. I thought I would really enjoy this book, as the quote on the cover claims fans of Agatha Christie will like it. A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle is a mystery set on the Endeavour, a cruise liner travelling to New York in the winter of 1924. This piece of historical fiction grips us from the very start when Timothy Birch, the ship's officer, is led to deal with the death of an elderly gentleman. When detective James Temple demands an investigation, the ship’s captain insists Birch accompany Temple throughout. With twist after gut-punching twist, A Fatal Crossing really is an ingenious thriller. Highly recommend' M. W. CravenThe very first thing I noticed about this book was the author’s writing style. Calling it juvenile might go a bit too far but it was definitely too tame for my taste. Bland and boring, it was immediately forgettable and repetitive. It’s always “the ship stretches the best part of…” or “the best part of fifty thousand tons” or “the restaurant’s capacity to seat the best part of five hundred diners” or “the best part of an hour/minute”… The storyline ensures that the reader is kept entertained and towards the end, there was a scenario that seemed to present itself to me as a possible twist, however, I was completely wrong - there certainly was a twist, an almighty twist at that, but not the one I was expecting! Whatever happened, it’s a mystery that is supposed to keep readers guessing and hopefully continue reading which I did! I ate this up and I can’t even say why!! This may be a closed-circle mystery, but it wasn’t suspenseful even though they were all trapped on one ship. Birch and Temple spend their days interviewing other passengers, potential suspects and witnesses, going from one cabin to the next while the only thing Temple does is be angry and shout at people and Birch always calms everyone down. When I first came across this book, it seemed like something I would absolutely love. Set in 1924, aboard a transatlantic liner travelling from Southampton to New York, this seemed to have the period flavour I love and a great setting. The Endeavour, with two thousand on board, is a wonderfully self-contained world, which seems ideal for a mystery.

And if I’m wrong? […] If there is a crime to be pursued, what sort of investigation do you suppose you’ll conduct then?” […] I guess I just wanted to know who the murderer was but guess what, it’s only been three weeks since I finished the book and I have already forgotten, lmao.

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SPOILER ALERT* the protagonist’s daughter has gone missing, which is an underlying theme within the story. For something which apparently drives the protagonist and is the reason for his journey, there is no information given on HOW she goes missing. It’s his fault? But HOW? He was on a ship when it happened - where was her mother?! It just makes no sense. As a furious squall swept down Lake Michigan on June 23, 1950, a DC-4 with 58 souls on board flew from New York toward Minnesota. Minutes after midnight Captain Robert Lind requested a lower altitude as he began crossing the lake, but Air Traffic Control could not comply. That was the last communication with Northwest Airlines Flight 2501. Century is publishing A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle, adebutbilled as a "smart, twisting, Golden Age-style crime novel"set aboard a cruise liner.