Death on the Diversion

Finished October 8

Death on the Diversion by Patricia McLinn

I was introduced to the main character in this series, Sheila Mackey, in the novella Before the Murders. Here Sheila is on a cruise, something that she has done plenty of times before, but this is her first time without her aunt Kit. They've also taken a relative along with them, and this trip Sheila is travelling with a distant cousin, Petronella, who is recently divorced from her abusive husband because he found a new woman. She has obvious confidence problems and is also protective of Sheila. 

Sheila meets a member of a group travelling together as she gets a manicure at the start of her voyage. Odette is friendly and has travelled on with her group before, but there are interesting dynamics between what used to be three couples. Spouses are now in relationships with other of the group's partners, with Odette the odd woman out and seemingly not bothered. Another woman in the group, Leah, is the one who seems often in a bad mood, and is unpleasant to fellow travellers and staff alike. 

There is also another repeat group aboard, a group of women who are loud, with flashy clothing, cosmetic enhancements and and entitled attitudes. 

As Sheila, with long distance advice from her aunt Kit, endeavours to figure out the mystery, she gathers information from crew members, members of both travel groups, her own companion, and her helpful dinner table companions. 

I enjoyed this mystery, and the way that Sheila became more confident of her own observation and problem-solving skills. There is humour here as well. An entertaining read. 

A Crafty Christmas

Finished September 19

A Crafty Christmas by Mollie Cox Bryan

This is the fourth novel in a series set around a group of scrapbooking friends in small-town Cumberland Creek, Virginia. In this novel, one of them, Sheila, has won a scrapbooking themed trip for herself and two friends on a cruise of the Caribbean. The trip takes place in mid-December and the novel begins with Sheila tripping over a body as she does her customer morning run on deck. She soon discovers it was a woman she'd been friendly with and who had been talking about hiring Sheila as a designer for her scrapbooking company. 

Sheila's friends Vera and Paige are on the cruise with her, and Vera had brought along her new boyfriend Eric, while Paige brought her pastry-chef son Randy. Randy has had some experience crafting before and is intrigued by a variety of elements of cruise ship life. Eric is a lawyer and relative newcomer to the group that they haven't entirely warmed up to yet. 

When the authorities discover that the victim was poisoned and become aware that Sheila had met with her recently, Sheila becomes a potential suspect in the case. When Sheila is on the scene of a second dead body as it is discovered, this becomes more of a threat. Thus the group begins to gather information to find the real killer before more deaths happen. Part of this is working with the friends and family back home, such as Vera's mother Beatrice and the crafting group member Annie. 

When odd occurrences begin happening back home in Virginia, the group begins to wonder if they are connected. 

This is a cozy mystery with lots of references to crafting and the specifics of the Christmas season. It also includes lots of references to delicious food from the gourmet offerings on the ship to the Christmas backing in both locations. 

The is a short section at the end with crafting terminology and Christmas scrapbooking ideas. 

I enjoyed the group problem-solving and the side stories around various of the characters. 

Sea Wife

Finished June 28

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige

This fascinating novel reads like a memoir. The narrator is mostly Juliet Partlow, but sometimes her husband Michael through the pages of the ship's log he kept. The couple have a marriage that has become shaky. Michael doesn't enjoy his job anymore and finds himself dreaming about the years he spent on a sailboat with his father, who has since passed away. 

As the book starts Juliet is in a bad mental state, spending most of her time when the children aren't home sitting in her husband's closet. You know that something has happened, but not what exactly. 

As the story reaches back a few months to Michael talking Juliet into taking a leave from work, buying a sailboat, and sailing as a family, you see into his mind, and how he was unhappy with his life, but very much in love with his wife and afraid for his marriage. Their children are young, Sybil is seven and George is under three. Michael thinks Juliet is depressed and that the adventure would be good for her. Juliet is worried about failing in yet another area of life. But she finally agrees. 

As the voyage goes, we see Juliet gain confidence and the two grow closer. The kids are also confident and daring and learning so much. This is a story of hope, of renewal, and of rebuilding a relationship. Until the unthinkable happens. It tests Juliet in ways she doesn't think she's ready for, and now in the aftermath she finds herself depending on someone else again, in this case her mother. 

This is a book where I grew to love the characters, this family that was willing to try something that seemed crazy to others. Their personalities are shown through their behaviour as well as the adults thoughts. I had a hard time putting this one down. It was so good. 

Float Plan

Finished February 27 

Float Plan by Trish Doller

This is my second book about sailing this year! This one is fiction. The main character here is Anna, a mid-twenties woman who works as a waitress at a pirate-themed restaurant in Florida. Less than a year ago, her fiance died by suicide and she's been grieving. His parents kicked her out of their shared apartment, which she couldn't have afforded on her own anyway, and she moved back into her mom's house and shares a room with her sister and niece. 

On the morning this story begins, an alert lit up her phone, reminding her that this was the day they were due to leave on a planned sailing trip through the Caribbean. It triggers something in her and she decides to do it. She gathers her stuff, shops quickly for supplies, does a quick clean of the sailboat (which was left to her in his will) and leaves.

She doesn't give notice at her job, and she doesn't tell her mom until after she's gone. But that first day (and night) of sailing has her realizing that she isn't experienced enough or confident enough to do some of the parts of this trip on her own, so she advertises for an experienced crew member. 

The guy that applies, Keane, has his own issues, but he's an excellent sailor and not only does the job, but teaches her the skills that she will need to continue on her own as well. 

I liked how Anna used the trip and the things that she had planned to do along it with her fiance to work through her grief and think about what she wanted for herself. Most of the trip had been planned by him, with her just acquiescing to his choices, so this is enlightening for her to find that she enjoys some of his choices and not others. It teaches her to trust herself, to know her own value and capabilities and to really think about her future more instead of just working in a dead-end job. 

It also highlights the world of sailing, the friendliness and camaraderie that exists, how people give advice, and help each other. She finds new friends, some through Keane and some on her own. 

At the beginning of the book she thinks she can't live without her lost love and in the journey of this novel she finds that she can, that she doesn't need anyone else, but sometimes she definitely wants a partner to share things with. 

It is a romance, but there is depth here as well.