Death on Ice: 'Like Murder She Wrote in the Arctic with Sharks!!!' (Kitty Murphy) - Murder, Sharks and a Delightful Queer Love Story
As seen:
By R. O. Thorp
avg rating
2 reviews
A scientist nobody liked has been murdered on the Arctic ice . . .
‘A brilliant modern cosy.’ Ian Moore, author of Death and Croissants
‘Fun ahoy!’ Orlando Murrin, author of Knife Skills for Beginners
‘How can something so damn cold be so damn cosy?’ Oskar Jensen, author of Helle and Death
‘Clever, quirky and irresistibly fun.’ Jessica Bull, author of Jane Austen Investigates
‘Written so beautifully, the queerness shines through.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review
Meet the Blanchard twins:
Rose is practical, sharp, and protective. Specialty: manta rays.
Finn is too sweet and kind for his own good. Specialty: sharks.
Rose and Finn are looking for sharks on the sea bed. When they return to their ship, the Dauphin, they make a terrible discovery: their colleague has been murdered on the ice – with a harpoon that should never have been there. Everyone else on the luxury cruise ship – the wealthy passengers, the researchers hard at work, the tight-knit crew and their strangely calm Captain – were all aboard at the time, so they are all under suspicion. Rose and Finn were the only two at sea, and they’re miles from anywhere, so it’s up to them to investigate.
On scientific problems, they are a brilliant team – but can the Blanchard twins solve a murder?
‘Crisp and cosy . . . like Murder She Wrote in the Arctic with sharks!!!’ Kitty Murphy, author of Death in Heels
READERS LOVE DEATH ON ICE:
‘Think Christie but funnier, with more heart . . . I love a cosy murder mystery and this was one of the best.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Delicious.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I loved this book.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘An amazing Who Done It that will genuinely keep you guessing! A fantastically diverse cast of characters! And the charming serene atmosphere of the artic! What more could you want!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviews
This book is the first in a potential series featuring the Blanchard twins (Rose and Finn), marine biologists turned amateur sleuths. A working team of research scientists and a small group of private individuals are on a luxury cruise ship in the arctic. Obviously there is a murder and the geographical isolation means that the suspects are limited to those on board the ship. The Blanchard twins are exempt from suspicion as they were in a submersible at the time and they put their heads together to try and solve the “locked room” mystery.
This is a very good cosy crime novel. There seems to be a resurgence of this literary genre at the moment and this is a good example of it. There are no graphic scenes of violence, no gratuitous sex, just old-fashioned story-telling with a good mystery to solve. The plot is well thought out and quite intricate and the solution is complex with plenty of twists and turns along the way. The arctic setting is dramatic and is described well so it evokes the atmosphere of the stark landscape and the frozen conditions.
The main issue I had with the book was the characters themselves. The first problem was keeping track of who was who and who was connected to who from a previous life. This might sound odd in a book where the number of characters is limited to those on board the ship, but by the time you include the passengers, the scientists, the crew and the two policemen there are quite a few people to keep track of and I was beginning to lose the plot. A secondary issue was that many of the supporting characters were described in great detail whereas the two main protagonists, Rose and Finn, were often left to largely fend for themselves when it came to being introduced to the readers. I felt, for example, that the passing reference to identical twins probably needed more than a passing reference as it was one of the most interesting things about the book (which is not to detract from its other plentiful merits).
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a cosy crime novel. It is certainly worth a read and I would happily read others in the series as and when they appear.
I would like to thank the publishers for the advance copies of this book sent to our book club to read and review.
A fun read in the Cosy Crime genre not usually my piece of toasted crumpet but that's one of the good things about book clubs, how they persuade...force us out of our habits
That the novel is very well written in respectful tribute to Agatha Christie style classic Golden Age detective fiction clearly helps win over the likes of me, 60+, cynical, grumpy, you know the type.
Murder as puzzle, with clues carefully planted to be picked up by the discerning reader. Nicely humorous in a very English way, with 21st C diversity that simply 'is' rather than making a 'Look at me! 'song-and-dance. Enough tension, twists and surprises to satisfy this reader.
The setting, an Arctic cruise with proper academic researchers and scientists to give intellectual heft to wealthy passengers' need for comfort and luxury, was the main draw for me, but it's the well drawn characters I stayed for: Rose and Finn, twin scientists forced by circumstances to turn amateur sleuths, a stalwart Scandi Captain completely in charge of his well-run ship regardless of what happens on this voyage, competing scientists, a pair of English policemen currently in Svalbard to investigate a smuggling ring, a pair of 'crystal hippie snobs' and a couple of 'quiet luxury snobs', an elderly writer together with her very efficient nurse.
Skilfully RO Thorp weaves together a satisfying murder mystery story that manages to be Classic and yet very Modern at the same time. It would make a brilliant film adaptation with the right casting and sufficient whimsy.
More, please.
