What took the cake though was the ending. My initial review said that I gasped out loud – I did!!!!! – but upon reflection, I think it’s an utterly underserved plot twist meant to do nothing but that: induce gasps. I don’t want to compare it with GOTs “Red Wedding” because different things happen, but it was about as unexpected. I usually LOVE unexpected plot twists, I live for them in my murder mysteries, but this one was so out of the blue, so far-fetched, ungracious and ungrateful to everything that came prior that it felt wrong and unearned. It’s super hard to talk about it without spoiling anything but it’s basically meant to turn the whole novel on its head and make you see it in a different light. I just thought it was lazy writing to make an otherwise super dull plot and average novel more exciting. I mean, I’m 100% pro-choice, I just wish the author had chosen a different ending for this book.

An autopsy determined they had died from exposure to the cold, an outcome that appeared predetermined as soon as they lost their way.Set in 1924 over a week long crossing from Southampton to New York, Tim Birch, the Ship’s Officer, finds himself assisting a Scotland Yard Detective in investigating the death of an elderly man on board. It’s generally believed to be an accident, but the detective thinks otherwise. They have four days to complete their investigations. James Temple, the other key protagonist, was also a character I struggled to engage with, although for different reasons. Initially, I quite liked his combative verbal sparring with the ship’s captain, who is reluctant to let Temple investigate. Here’s is an excerpt of their interview:

If I’m being honest, I had no intention at first of writing a novel. The idea for A Fatal Crossing – that being a murder mystery set on board a 1920s cruise liner – first came to me while I was in sixth form, and the plan at that point was to write it up as a play which I’d put on with some friends. I really enjoyed this debut whodunit from Tom Hindle. I'm a fan of the genre, and this one had suspects a-plenty, lots of twists and intrigue and a clever wrap-up. 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. They were migrants from India: listless, disoriented and determined to reach the United States along one of its most desolate frontiers. They had been trudging through knee- to waist-deep snow for 11 hours in whiteout conditions, and two had to be rushed to a hospital. Did the children succumb first, and the parents waited at their sides? Did the family simply give up and lie down in the windy darkness?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 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. He also said that he had spent a large sum of money to enter Canada with a student visa he had obtained under false pretenses — he had no intention of studying in Canada. After crossing into the United States, he had expected to be met and transported to Chicago.I was first drawn to this book because of the beautiful cover, it’s very in keeping with the story. 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. The setting of the ship had such potential for a real air of mystery and suspense but I didn’t get a sense of this at all. Some guarantee admission to study programs, even for those without the English-proficiency test that is normally required.

The whole story takes place over a four day period in November 1924 as the cruise liner Endeavour approaches New York from Southampton with two thousand passengers and crew on board. When an elderly man is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the ship’s captain assumes – and hopes – that it’s an accident. However, James Temple, a Scotland Yard inspector, happens to be one of the passengers on the voyage and, after examining the body, he is convinced that the old man has been murdered. The captain gives Temple permission to investigate the crime, but only if he agrees to be accompanied by one of the ship’s officers, Timothy Birch. The setting is brought to life vividly from the sumptuous cabins and entitlement of first class and the comfortable and cosy accommodation in second class through the cramped quarters of third class, where strangers share rooms, to the cavernous cargo hold. For the above reasons, whilst I genuinely did enjoy the story and wanted to know how it ended, I do not think I would have persevered to the end had I not felt obliged to leave an informed review.I was drawn to A Fatal Crossing first by the cover, then when I saw that it was a Golden Age-style mystery novel set at sea in the 1920s, I was even more interested! And if I’m wrong? […] If there is a crime to be pursued, what sort of investigation do you suppose you’ll conduct then?” […] Staying motivated could also be tough, especially while trying to fit in my writing around a busy day-job. I’m someone who thrives on the routine, so I carved out time during the week for writing, which I clung to rigidly. I’d write on Monday and Wednesday evenings, when my girlfriend went to a gym class and I’d have the flat to myself, and then for a couple of hours first-thing on Saturday and Sunday morning. Without that schedule, I’m not convinced I would ever have completed a full draft. It gave me something I could use to hold myself to account, on the days I wasn’t feeling it. I wish Clive Cussler, in addition to funding the searches, had thrown some connections her way for a good editor and proofreader. Century is publishing A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle, adebutbilled as a "smart, twisting, Golden Age-style crime novel"set aboard a cruise liner.