Reviews

The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper by Sally Carpenter

katherineep's review

3.0

I really liked the Sandy Fairfax/Ernest Farmington character. He was very flawed, sometimes obnoxious but also genuinely nice. He came across as a very real character who was honest with himself about the highs and lows of being a former celebrity. I loved the cruise ship setting and the behind the scenes look that we as readers got through Sandy. I liked the relationship between Sandy and his sister as well as between Sandy and his fan club. The mystery itself is well done and well paced. While I had some hints as to the who it was still interesting to get there.
One of the things that annoys me frequently in cozy mysteries is the amateur detective and Sandy is definitely an amateur detective. He asks questions from people who have no reason to answer him and sticks his nose where it doesn't belong regardless of personal risk and requests of law enforcement.

Overall: This is definitely a cozy with the amateur detective, a cast of somewhat over the top characters and mostly off screen violence. While it wasn't perfect it was an entertaining read . It is the 3rd in the series it can easily be read as a standalone.

Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-cunning-cruise-ship-caper-blog-tour.html

dollycas's review

4.0

Dollycas’s Thoughts

This third installment finds Sandy sailing away with some fans, some strangers, some strange performers, his estranged sister and a killer!! Sandy has changed a lot over the years and is trying to be a better man, the last thing he needed was to find another dead body. So he puts on his super sleuth shoes and tries to catch the murderer all while trying to repair his relationship with his sister.

Sally Carpenter has introduced us some interesting new characters. My favorite was Sandy’s sister, Celeste. She was a folk singer herself back in the day but when Sandy’s career took off her career stalled out and she became a bit of a recluse. Sandy had not seen her in years and she blames him for the demise of her career so it is important to him that she comes on the cruise with him. Celeste is also blind but I seemed to almost forget that some of the time. She makes some huge changes during this cruise.

The story is also well written and flowed very well. I really liked the way she writes Sandy. He is not an investigator at all, but he is not afraid to just go for it and ask questions of anyone and everyone. Things do not always go well with Sandy’s approach but in the end they work. You will feel sorry for him and giggle at the same time at some of the predicaments he gets himself into.

All the books in the series have been fun to read. I hope Sandy is out and about with another caper for us soon!