Murder Takes a Vacation
Suddenly wealthy due to a surprise lottery win, Muriel Blossom — a sensible retired widow — is treating herself to a special trip: a river cruise beginning in Paris. She’s planning a couple of days to herself in the city before boarding the cruise boat, where she’ll be joined by her long-time friend Elinor.
Checking in at the Baltimore airport, she is bumped up to business class for the British Airways flight to London, where she’ll change planes for Paris. She’s never flown business class before, and she’s never been anywhere outside the U.S. It’s all a bit overwhelming. So she welcomes the assistance of a fellow passenger, silver-haired Allan Turner, who accompanies her through security, helps her change her watch to Paris time, and sits next to her on the plane.
When they arrive in London, it appears they have arrived too late for Mrs. Blossom to make her connecting flight to Paris. Allan persuades her to take a train to Paris instead. The Eurostar doesn’t leave until the next day, so he helps her book into a hotel, then takes her on a walking tour of the city. They end up having dinner together, and she’s thrilled when he gives her a sweet good night kiss back at the hotel.
Too good to be true? Of course. But whatever plans Allan had in mind, they come to nothing when he turns up murdered — in Paris, though she thought he had remained in London.
Meanwhile, another strange man has entered her life. Danny, a younger, maybe-gay man who was on the train from London with her, says he’s a stylist and would love to help her shop for clothes while she’s in Paris. And he does, helping her find some flattering styles. But then he shows up as a passenger on the same cruise Mrs. Blossom and Elinor are on. Is he following her? Is he a protector or a predator? Can she believe anything he says?
As they continue on the cruise, Mrs. Blossom starts looking for answers to her questions. She’s not quite as naïve as these flirtatious strangers seem to think, and after some 250 entertaining pages, she succeeds in besting everyone who thought they could take advantage of her.
This is a standalone novel, though it could well be the start of a new series, with Mrs. Blossom as an enjoyable sleuth “of a certain age”.
Laura Lippman was born 1959 in Atlanta, but was raised in Baltimore. She was a reporter for twenty years, first in San Antonio and then in Baltimore. She wrote her first seven novels while working fulltime at the Baltimore Sun, writing in the early mornings before heading to work.
She is best known for her series featuring private investigator Tess Monahan, beginning with Baltimore Blues in 1997 and most recently with the twelfth in the series, Hush Hush (2015). Lippman has also written 15 standalone novels (Murder Takes a Vacation being the most recent), three short story collections, and a memoir, The Summer of Fall.
Lippman has been married twice, most recently to David Simon, creator of The Wire. She and Simon separated in 2020, but are collegial co-parents of their daughter, born in 2010.
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