Hope
is still fed up at being passed over for promotion but at
least she and the rest of the crew of the Caribbean Honey
are enjoying some shore leave. The team building beach party
starts out fun, but things soon turn sour when somebody is
shot, and the wrong person arrested. If she is going to find
the culprit before they set sail she will have to team up
with Felix once again.
This is the second in the new series, and sequel to Drugged
on the Deck. I would advise reading this first as it contains
a lot that you need to know for full enjoyment (and indeed
comprehension) of the sequel. I am not normally a fan of novellas
but the author is clearly one of those happy few who can write
this type of thing and not make it seem like part of something
longer. After establishing the main characters and setting
up the background in the first book she is now free to introduce
a few more people and show how they interact. Felix is a mysterious
character; I imagine we will be finding out a lot more about
him in subsequent books. Why is he so interested in the fact
that Hope is adopted? The murder victim is a white man and
both Hope and some of her fellow crewmates are Hispanic, which
involves them getting treated unfairly by the arresting officer
and some other characters. This was dealt with in a realistic
manner and I didn’t get who committed the crime; it
was a well-constructed story. I’m less happy that Hope
and Felix might turn into yet another one of those bickering
couples that populate a lot of mysteries. Also, the author
really needs to find another term instead of the overused
“smirk” which crops up a lot and conjures up a
more unappealing image than I am sure is intended. This aside
I think this is a series I am keen to read more of, with characters
I mostly cared about, an attractive setting and a teasing
plot. I was particularly impressed with the fact that every
story is not going to be set on the ship; instead the books
are concerned more about the characters’ interactions
and adventures together. I’m up for more.
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