(Dec.)Ĭopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. With little violence, much description of jewelry, some intrigue and plenty of stiff upper lips, Allen's confection may overcome its predictable elements to find warm admirers. He will, however, please some fans of historical drawing-room murder, especially the Anglophiles. Allen won't win awards for his prose ("Having been given so little in the way of evidence, he now felt that he had far too much and it was causing confusion").
When Dillman discovers Bancroft murdered by a grisly blow to the head, only he can find the real killer. Someone has snatched the secret diagrams that explain the Lusitania's wiring, and someone-the same culprit?-has stolen a Stradivarius from world-famous violinist Itzak Weiss. It's not long before Dillman discovers difficult puzzles to solve. Meanwhile, pushy journalist Henry Bancroft tries hard to scoop his rivals, and the aristocrats who populate the book's margins pursue their various schemes. Posing as a first-class passenger on the Lusitania's 1907 maiden voyage, he ingratiates himself with ship's surgeon Lionel Osborne, flirts mildly with young Violet Rymer, assists the troubled American Ellen Tolley, befriends the adventurous Genevieve Masefield and keeps an eye on potential card sharks and con men. Suave, smart and handsome, George Porter Dillman seems to be the perfect man for his job as the Cunard Line's private detective. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.Īllen kicks off a projected series of mysteries set on famous ocean liners with this well-crafted high society whodunit. Working quickly to solve the crime, George makes an unusual and spirited friend, Genevieve Masefield, and the two uncover secrets about their fellow travelers that prove explosive. No one seems sorry to see him go, and George Dillman soon discovers that several on board even stand to gain from Barcroft's demise. The murder victim is Henry Barcroft, a grating, nosy journalist who'd been covering the maiden voyage for a wire service and making a nuisance of himself among the other passengers. While on board, he expects to deal with only petty crimessome random vandalism, perhaps a scuffle or two in the bar - but then the ship's blueprints are stolen from the chief engineer's room and a man is killed in his cabin. Hired by the ship's captain to pose as a passenger, George is in fact sailing the high seas as a private detective for the Cunard Line. George Porter Dillman sets sail from Liverpool on the New York-bound Lusitania for its maiden voyage.
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