1985 mystery, seventeenth in the series about Superintendent Henry
Tibbett. Returning from Amsterdam, Henry and Emmy can't get a cabin on
the night ferry, and end up having to rough it in seats. In the
morning, one of their fellow travellers has been murdered…
There are missing diamonds, and criminal masterminds so
terrifying that someone shoots themselves rather than admit failure or
turn themselves in to the police. But there's also a clear inspiration
from reality, with the fiddly details of the ferry's mechanics: you
can always get a cabin at the last moment, except when you suddenly
can't because of a mass booking; you can place radiotelephone calls
via the purser, at great expense…
But also because it's Moyes what's most important is the people, and
what Tibbett is gradually able to learn about the candidates for thief
and/or murderer. Perhaps the world is a little small, since many of
the passengers seem to know each other even if they won't admit it.
The story is short, but there are plenty of moving parts, and
everything ticks along very neatly.
Perhaps too neatly? I didn't feel quite as much enthusiasm here as I
have for some of Moyes' other novels, but it's still a better
detective story than most writers ever manage.
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