Murder Afloat - Ruby Riverton

   2021; 329 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Book 1 (out of 5) in the “Lottie Lindberg Murder Mysteries” series.  Genres : Cozy Mystery; Amateur Sleuth Mystery; Historical Fiction.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

 

    It is going to be a bittersweet voyage for Lottie Lindberg.

 

    On one hand, this was supposed to be a honeymoon cruise for Lottie and her husband, Manning.  But Manning recently passed away from the consumption, and Lottie is fulfilling his dying wish that she still go on the trip.

 

    On the other hand, this is the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, the most modern ocean liner in the world!  All sorts of upper crust people will be among the passengers, and maybe Lottie will get to hobnob with some of them.  After all, Manning did arrange their room to be in the first-class section.

 

    Lottie will have lots of free time for her favorite hobby – reading mystery-crime novels.  Who knows, she might even witness something mysterious and get to go sleuthing, just like the brainy detectives in Jacques Heath Futrelle’s crime novels.

 

    That’s about the only chance for anything exciting happening on this cruise.  After all, even though they’ll be traveling through waters laden with icebergs, everybody has been assured that the Titanic is unsinkable.

 

What’s To Like...

    Murder Afloat is the first book in Ruby Riverton’s 5-volume (so far) 1900s Historical Cozy Mystery series featuring our plucky amateur sleuth, Lottie Lindberg.  The emphasis here is on the word “cozy”; there is zero cussing, zero “adult situations”, and zero blood-&-gore.  The setting is easy to determine: 1912, aboard the RMS Titanic, at least until it sinks.  ANAICT, the entire series thus far is set in the pre-World War One era, i.e. before 1914.

 

    The investigation reminded me of the old 1980s-90s TV series Murder, She Wrote.  Lottie befriends several co-passengers and, after witnessing several odd goings-on, they (mostly Lottie) nose around, then meet back together to discuss what they’ve observed.  Jessica Fletcher would be proud.

 

    There are plenty of odd events for Lottie and the reader to ponder.  Who lost a boot?  Why are a bunch of baddies all wearing the same kind of shoes?  Why do some of the passengers seem to have multiple accents?  What happened to Esme’s dowry?  What’s the grand plan of the baddies?  Plus lots more.

 

    Be sure to read the Afterword section at the end of the book.  Ruby Riverton introduces you to a number of famous and/or well-to-do people that were on the fateful voyage.  One of the notables who perished when the Titanic went down was the aforementioned American mystery writer Jacques Futrelle, who, according to Wikipedia, was as famous for his “brainy detective” series as Arthur Conan Doyle was for his Sherlock Holmes tales.  Amazon carries quite a few of Futrelle’s stories, many of which are free due to the copyright having expired.  Being a Conan Doyle fan, reading this book motivates me to get acquainted with his works.

 

    The ending is over-the-top, but that’s okay in a cozy mystery.  This is not an “alternate timeline” tale; the Titanic still sinks on schedule, and I kept wondering how Ruby Riverton was going to “save” Lottie's two male acquaintances, given that lifeboat seats were mostly only available for women and children.  Read the book to find out how that plot thread gets resolved.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.2/5 based on 718 ratings and 84 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.13/5 based on 407 ratings and 62 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    “Now that I have you here, I have the most exciting news to share.”  I bounce to a seat on the bed and kick off my shoes, rubbing my feet.  I wore a new pair of heels to breakfast that I don’t think I’ll ever wear again.  I swear, women’s shoes are just a fancy name for torture chambers.  “You don’t mind, do you?”  I suddenly look up, realizing how casually rude I’m being, exposing my bare feet like this in mixed company.

    “Oh, no problem, Miss.  I’ve seen feet before.”  (loc. 1416)

 

    “Perhaps he was just wishing to leave an old life behind and thought he’d turn over a new leaf in America and become a whole new person.”

    “Or maybe he’s a criminal running from the law.”  Esme’s brows lurch up as she tamps down the thought.

    “Yes, well, there’s that, too.”  I swallow.

    “But a baron, of all things.”  She grips her hips.

    “Well, what would you become if you wanted to change your whole life?”

    “Well, certainly not aristocracy.”  Esme scowls.  (loc. 3225)

 

Kindle Details…

    Murder Afloat sells for $0.99 at Amazon right now.  Books 2-4 are $4.99 apiece, with Book 5 currently going for $2.99.  ANAICT, this series is Ruby Riverton’s debut entry into the Amazon e-book market.

 

“You lowly plop of poodle poo!”  (loc. 3557)

    There are some things to quibble about in Murder Afloat.

 

    The characters all tend to be either “black hats” or “white hats”, it is easy for the reader to immediately tell which they are, and I only recall one plot twist that changed a person's “hat color”.

 

    The writing can be a bit clunky at times.  Another reviewer called the problem “writing in the present tense”, and that’s a fair description.  It was distracting, although my “reading brain” learned to ignore it.  Several reviewers pointed out some historical anachronisms.  Curiously, left unmentioned was the only one I noted, the ship’s racquetball courts.  Racquetball wasn’t invented until the early 1950s.

 

    There were also a couple of what I call WTF’s, i.e. things that strain the reader’s believability limit.  One example is when the situation calls for it, Lottie somehow instantly becomes a skilled lock-picker.  To be fair, though, I think cozy mysteries are one genre that are allowed to use a few WTF’s.

 

    The biggest issue, noted by others, was the editing.  Typos and punctuation gaffes abound.  At the start of the book, the author offers a link where readers can leave a note about any errata they find.  I imagine the site is awash with replies.

 

    Nevertheless, I enjoyed Murder Afloat, even though the cozy mysteries I read are few and far between.  Lottie is an interesting and likeable protagonist, and I especially liked that the story incorporates a historically monumental event into its setting.  Keep in mind that the book isn’t a “whodunit”, it’s a “what are they up to”, then tag along with Lottie and see if you can get to the bottom of things before she does.

 

    7 Stars.  Good news!  Ruby Riverton is evidently working on the sixth book in this series.  It is tentatively titled Murder Abounds or Murder Askew, depending on which Amazon blurb is correct.