by JJ Marsh (Author, Publisher), Jill Prewett (Narrator)

An Audiobook

  Two octogenarian ladies from the nearby cruise ship are picnicking on a hillside above the bay on a beautiful Greek island. One of them is gazing through the viewfinder of her camera, using it as a “spyglass.” She sees an older woman, one from their group on the ship, stagger across the parking lot below. She’s concerned until she sees a crewman from the ship rush to her, steady her, and pick her up.

But then she is shocked to see the man walk to the cliff’s edge and throw the woman over. The watcher nearly faints and drops the camera. But when she looks through the viewfinder again, the man has disappeared!  Did she really see what she saw?

Of course, they tell the authorities, but the local police think they imagined it.  Octogenarians, after all! Surely, that woman lost her balance and fell.  A sad accident. When a police launch later finds the woman’s body, they agree to investigate.  Since the woman, indeed, the whole ship is full of British senior citizens, they call in someone from Scotland Yard to collaborate with the newly promoted Inspector Nikos Stephanakis,  Enter D.I. Beatrice Stubbs.

Another aged woman dies aboard the ship: this time, there is no doubt. She was murdered. And Beatrice and Nikos get to work.

COLD PRESSED by JJ Marsh is an authentic police procedural set in Santorini, Greece. The seasoned Scotland Yard cop and the young inspector collaborate well as they interview everyone involved, staff, crew, and passengers. However, personal stresses back home and an ill-advised attraction complicate Beatrice’s thinking.

It’s an exciting, fascinating read with a suspenseful climax. The history behind the crimes is also interesting.

(But…. maybe I shouldn’t have read it just before embarking on my own cruise!)