A Fatal Crossing: Agatha Christie meets Titanic in this unputdownable mystery

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When an elderly gentleman is found dead at the foot of a staircase, ship's officer Timothy Birch is ready to declare it a tragic accident. But James Temple, a strong-minded Scotland Yard inspector, is certain there is more to this misfortune than meets the eye. She needed a better understanding of the girls. Discover where Lulu and Lisbeth had come from. Right now they were simply abstract stereotypes. What were their dreams? Why had they ended up at Vestergården, a place where damaged and difficult youngsters were sent when all other efforts had failed? When they were what social workers liked to call ‘beyond educational reach’. Mounting an investigation, the pair uncover the theft of a priceless painting, and encounter a string of suspects with secrets to hide. They are to take part in a murder mystery game with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play.

Lone Theils, όπως και η ηρωίδα της, εργάστηκε ως ανταποκρίτρια δανέζικων εφημερίδων στον Λονδίνο για περίπου 16 χρόνια οπότε είναι λογικό να γνωρίζει αρκετά καλά τις συνήθειες των Άγγλων αλλά και το πως να κινείται στη χώρα. Και αυτό διαφαίνεται μέσα από την αφήγηση της ιστορίας της καθώς διαβάζουμε το βιβλίο της. Τα ταξίδια αστραπή της Νόρα Σαν μεταξύ Δανίας και Αγγλίας δίνουν τη δυνατότητα στους αναγνώστες να ταξιδέψουν νοερά και στις δύο χώρες ανακαλύπτοντας τες μέσα από τις περιγραφές της συγγραφέως. Πέρα από αυτό είναι ένα ξεχωριστό ανάγνωσμα που ίσως κυλάει λίγο νωχελικά καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια του για να σπιντάρει κυριολεκτικά στα τελευταία κεφάλαια μετατρέποντας το σε ένα θρίλερ με έντονη δράση και αγωνία για την κατάληξη του. Το τέλος του αφήνει ξέπνοους τους αναγνώστες που παρακολουθούν εμβρόντητοι το κουβάρι της αφήγησης να φτάνει στην άκρη του νήματος με ένα αίσθημα φρίκης που πραγματικά δεν περίμεναν ότι θα συνέβαινε όσο το διάβαζαν. Set almost 100 years ago ( 1924), A Fatal Crossing deftly combines a sense of its period setting with the plot structure and dramatic devices that readers expect a century later. The characters are not especially likeable and I'm not sure there's a single one you can trust but they're all very well crafted. I could picture each and every one. Globalt στο Λονδίνο, αγοράζει μια βαλίτσα από ένα παλαιοπωλείο όπου θα ανακαλύψει στο εσωτερικό της διάφορες φωτογραφίες κοριτσιών. Ανάμεσα σε αυτές υπάρχει και μια που απεικονίζει δύο κοπέλες από τη Δανία οι οποίες είχαν εξαφανιστεί το 1985 όταν ταξίδευαν με φεριμπότ προς την Αγγλία. Λόγω επαγγέλματος θα ξυπνήσει μέσα της η δημοσιογραφική περιέργεια και θα αρχίσει να σκαλίζει την ιστορία των δύο κοριτσιών με τις έρευνες της να την οδηγούν σε αλεπάλληλα ταξίδια ανάμεσα στην Κοπεγχάγη και στο Λονδίνο, σε αμέτρητες συνεντεύξεις με μάρτυρες αλλά και σε συναντήσεις με άτομα από το παρελθόν της που θα την οδηγήσουν τελικά σε έναν serial killer που εκτίει ισόβια κάθειρξη στο Γουλφ Χολ, μια πασίγνωστη βρετανική φυλακή. Η αναζήτηση της αλήθειας για την εξαφάνιση των δύο κοριτσιών και για το τι ακριβώς τους συνέβη θα αποδειχθεί τρομακτικά επικίνδυνη όσο θα πλησιάζει προς αυτήν…

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A solid 3.5 stars rounded up. I'd originally put this on my to-read list when going through different Scandinavian authors and it turned out to be excellent read when you need something easy. When I was drawn into the story and the mystery around the photo, I really enjoyed the book. It may have had a slow start for me but the second half of the book had more action, especially at the end! Most of the characters are unlikable but that did not spoil the story at all if anything it only added more suspects to my list. From the despised to the pitied they are not only well-developed but realistic.

The story is told from multiple povs, each with a very different and distinctive voice. I will admit that I struggled a little at the start to get the cast of characters straight and remember the relationships between them but I think that's mostly a me issue. I have a terrible memory for names and generally prefer a book to only have one or two povs. Once I got into the story I had absolutely no problems and found myself enjoying the different perspectives. I loved how the game was constructed and how everything went down hill when a murder happened during the murder mystery party. As a furious squall swept down Lake Michigan on June 23, 1950, a DC-4 with 58 souls on board flew from New York toward Minnesota. Minutes after midnight Captain Robert Lind requested a lower altitude as he began crossing the lake, but Air Traffic Control could not comply. That was the last communication with Northwest Airlines Flight 2501. Speaking of the photo and what happened to the two girls in it. Wow. I was not expecting that at all. I don’t want to say anything here about what happened because I hate spoiling books for other people. But I love books where I don’t see the ending coming. 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.November 1924. The Endeavour sets sail to New York with 2,000 passengers – and a killer – on board . . . Even though Fatal Crossing took me a while to get into I did end up enjoying it and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book. I’m hoping it will be translated into English one day. Temple is furious that he has to put up with Birch, and so begins their acrimonious partnership in which the pair have 4 days to find a killer, after which the liner arrives in New York, the passengers disembark, and there will be no chance of resolving the case. Birch is a traumatised man who served in the war, left with a bullet wound in his shoulder. His daughter, Amelia, has been missing for 2 years, and his marriage to Kate has fallen apart. He blames himself, he is a shadow of the man he used to be, putting his hopes in finding Amelia on the only person he has any faith in, American Raymond, clinging to a yellow ribbon belonging to Amelia as if his life depended on it. Virtually all the crew, with the exception of Wilson avoid Birch, he is incapable of maintaining any relationship. Temple is a man with his own demons and secrets, he refuses to divulge what police business has him travelling on the liner.

alter ego της συγγραφέως, στο επαγγελματικό κομμάτι τουλάχιστον. Έχοντας εργαστεί και η ίδια ως ανταποκρίτρια εφημερίδας, η Theils προικίζει την ηρωίδα της με το δημοσιογραφικό δαιμόνιο και τον τρόπο ανάπτυξης της έρευνας που πιθανότατα βοήθησε και την ίδια στην καριέρα της. Finally, we are left with a satisfying ending, all loose ends are tied up neatly. Whilst I had figured out who the murderer was it did not take away the enjoyment of seeing this Cluedo story play out. The crossing is being made by the Aurora Lines Endeavour from Southampton to New York in November 1924. The ship is only a few days from New York when an elderly passenger is found dead at the bottom of a flight of steps.There is certainly plenty to like about "The Murder Game" and the influence of those aforementioned authors is plainly evident. There is a nice prologue to set the scene and introduce the key protagonists in true "Golden Age" mystery fashion. The setting, too, is very Christie-esque and I liked the way the author made use of a 1920s themed murder mystery game to create a mystery within a mystery. Not only did this allow homage to be paid to that classic era, but it also reminded me of the technique employed by Anthony Horowitz in his "Magpie Murders" and "Moonflower Murders" books. It won't escape fans of Horowitz that there is something of a "Midsomer Murders" feel to this story too. I think we will be seeing more of this type of occupation and reporting of current events in our future fiction reads, what a brilliant way to add social commentary to our reading lives. Temple and Birch make an interesting partnership, particularly as it’s a very reluctant one! As an intelligent, competent and experienced detective, Temple is not at all happy about having an inept and bumbling ship’s officer shadowing his every move, saying the wrong things and interfering with the investigation. Birch is our narrator, and as we only see things from his point of view, Temple comes across as bad-tempered, rude and hostile, but there are hints that there’s more to each character than meets the eye. While Temple’s past and his reasons for boarding the Endeavour are shrouded in mystery, we learn that Birch is haunted by the disappearance of his young daughter Amelia and the breakdown of his marriage.

I was looking forward to reading The Murder game after reading the authors first novel The fatal crossing and enjoyed it. The mystery itself is an intriguing one. It is possibly not the most original but sometimes it's great to just relax and enjoy a story that has a traditional feel to it. It's like settling down to watch a classic murder mystery on a Sunday evening. There are a few twists and turns, the odd red herring and a few reveals around events that happened in the past. I did see some of the reveals coming but there were a few surprises in there too. 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.I really wanted to enjoy this book. I love Agatha Christie so a murder mystery set in the 1920’s sounded right up my street. Unfortunately I didn’t find myself particularly engaged in the story, or really caring about the outcome.