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Rating: 
Summary: An unsolvable mystery.
Review: This is one classic murder mystery you'll never solve. You'll guess neither whodunit nor how it was done. You'll be in good company. Freeman Wills Crofts' regular sleuth, Detective Inspector French of Scotland Yard, is also unable to solve the mystery. The owner and manager of a large English engineering business invites his Australian nephew to inherit the management. The owner's other descendants are forced to make way for this "outsider" from abroad. At a dinner party, all the family members are poisoned, the Australian nephew most severely, but all recover. To aid recovery, a Mediterranean cruise is recommended. It is during this cruise that a murder occurs and Inspector French is called to investigate. The big bonus here, for "Golden Age" detective fiction enthusiasts, is the opportunity to enjoy a Mediterranean cruise. Crofts provides descriptions of each port and the excursions available. An engineer by training, he depicts not only ship-board tourist life above decks but also provides fascinating looks at engine rooms, bridges, propellers, etc. I found the latter part of this 1937 novel a little tiresome. It is always more fun to follow French as he solves a mystery than to read chapter after chapter in which he is forced to discard theory after theory. Nevertheless this is, on balance, one of the most ingenious and imaginative yarns from a very readable author.
Rating:
Summary: An unsolvable mystery.
Review: This is one classic murder mystery you'll never solve. You'll guess neither whodunit nor how it was done. You'll be in good company. Freeman Wills Crofts' regular sleuth, Detective Inspector French of Scotland Yard, is also unable to solve the mystery. The owner and manager of a large English engineering business invites his Australian nephew to inherit the management. The owner's other descendants are forced to make way for this "outsider" from abroad. At a dinner party, all the family members are poisoned, the Australian nephew most severely, but all recover. To aid recovery, a Mediterranean cruise is recommended. It is during this cruise that a murder occurs and Inspector French is called to investigate. The big bonus here, for "Golden Age" detective fiction enthusiasts, is the opportunity to enjoy a Mediterranean cruise. Crofts provides descriptions of each port and the excursions available. An engineer by training, he depicts not only ship-board tourist life above decks but also provides fascinating looks at engine rooms, bridges, propellers, etc. I found the latter part of this 1937 novel a little tiresome. It is always more fun to follow French as he solves a mystery than to read chapter after chapter in which he is forced to discard theory after theory. Nevertheless this is, on balance, one of the most ingenious and imaginative yarns from a very readable author.
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