by Audrey Alden (Author)

       I love cruising, so I read all the books I can that are set on cruise ships. DEAD MAN’S DISH is the first in a series by Audrey Alden, set in the present day. (Note the play-on-words with the main character’s last name, “Cruz.”  Clever!)

Rose Dela Cruz is a former Private Investigator (and she owns a “detective” Beagle as well). She decides to take a break from her stalled business and signs up to be the Cruise Director aboard The Midnight Tide, a posh ship cruising the British Isles. Not long after the ship sets sail, a murder of a VERY wealthy and influential real estate mavin is discovered. And Miss Cruz switches from ship’s director to investigator mode, without losing the title.

The story is a great peek into how a cruise ship manages a death on board, and how it deals with an elusive killer when the ship docks in ports where escape is certainly possible. Another attempted murder puts the ship’s security into high alert, and plunges the handsome Captain Ben Anderson into real jeopardy.  After all this is taking place on HIS ship and on HIS watch.  Miss Cruz tries her very hardest (for the Captain’s sake, and her budding feelings for him) to solve the case.  And Rex, her crazy PI dog makes several cool discoveries which eventually “point” to the criminal.

I enjoyed the read, but I have two “cons” to list with the “pros.”  One, I knew the killer from chapter three. And Two, seriously, Rose Dela Cruz did NOT do the duties of a Cruise Director, who is normally WAY to busy to investigate (do interviews, conduct background checks, etc.) both on and off the ship. Alden should have cast her in the Security capacity from the beginning, in my opinion.

And for that, I went from four to – THREE STARS.