Lady Diana and her detective husband Captain Jim are taking a relaxing cruise from Boston to England. Aboard the elegant ship is an interesting cast of characters, from the crew to the other passengers. One evening while collecting his thoughts on deck, Jim runs into another passenger, an elderly Spanish gentleman who speaks briefly with Jim. As a fellow soldier, Jim feels some kinship with him, and when some time later he receives a message from him asking Jim to immediately come to speak with him, Jim responds immediately. But the message had been delayed and when Jim finally goes to meet him, he finds him dead. Now Jim is tasked with finding the killer before the ship lands in England. Making things more complicated is that fact that is wife Diana, who is both wife and parter, has been disturbingly distant with him. Jim had hoped the trip would allow her to come clean about what was bothering her.

As Capt Jim begins his investigation he finds that one thing or rather one person after the other is not what they seem to be, from the elderly woman who is confined to her cabin and the young woman who is her assistant, to members of the crew, to the various aristocrats on board. But who would have reason to kill an elder gentleman? And why is the ships captain so concerned that the widow not be interviewed?

The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret is a fast passed, gripping stories, with enough red herrings to keep the greatest mystery devotee in the dark til the very end.

A wonderful setup and a richly imagined setting
Former Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife, Lady Diana Framji, are on a transatlantic cruise to England in 1894. Jim meets a retired Spanish military officer who is now a diplomat and later receives a note from the man asking him to meet him urgently. When Jim rushes to see what the gentleman needs, he finds he has been murdered. The situation is especially delicate because of Spain’s currently fragile international relationships, and the captain asks Jim, who is a private investigator, to help find the killer before the ship docks. Diana is in the background, as would be proper for a lady, but offers her usual sage advice.
This is a locked-room mystery with nice echoes of Agatha Christie and specific allusions to Sherlock Holmes, whom Jim and Diana admire, but the “room” is rather large, considering that there are about a thousand people on board the ship. Among the fun and interesting details the reader learns during the book are the techniques used to keep the various strata of passengers separated (Heaven forbid someone from first class might encounter someone from a lower class of passenger!). As a result, the actual likely suspect list is much smaller.
As part of his investigation, Jim must get to know the environment of the ship so he can understand how the murderer was able to approach the victim and kill him. The setup of the ship, including both the physical layout and the roles and placements of the numerous crew members required for such a large vessel , are explored in great detail. There are also references to historical events, like the Spanish civil war and rebellion in Cuba, where the murder victim had served as governor, that could provide a motive for the murder.
This setting and Jim’s preliminary explorations were interesting, but it gave a feeling of a slow pace on the plot, and I was glad when it finally picked up steam. Jim discovers that several passengers have secrets that add to the complexity of the problem. One passenger apparently commits suicide, and someone attacks Jim before he finally identifies the killer and provokes a very dramatic climax.
A reader can enjoy this book without having read the first book, but I highly recommend reading them in order. Jim and Diana have unusual personal and ethnic backgrounds that are not fully explained but are alluded to and certainly affect how they are treated in society, and it helps to know more about them.
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.

“The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret” (Captain Jim and Lady Diana #3) by Nev March ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Historical Mystery. Location: Atlantic Ocean crossing. Time: 1894.

THE SERIES: In 19th century Bombay, Captain Jim Agnihotri O’Trey (British Army, Bombay Police) reads and rereads the books of his idol, Sherlock Holmes. When Jim meets lively Lady Diana Framji, his heart is captured. After a move from India to the USA, Jim becomes a detective at the Boston, Massachusetts Dupree Agency, and teaches Diana the art of deduction he’s learned from the Sherlock Holmes books.

THIS BOOK: It’s summer, and Captain Jim and wife Diana are sailing from the USA to England on the steamship HMS Etruria. On the 1st evening at sea, Jim meets Don Juan Nepomuceno, an old Spaniard soldier and diplomat. The next day, he sends for Jim, but before Jim gets there, his dead body is found in the locked Music Room. The ship’s captain begs Jim to find the killer before they dock in Liverpool, or there will be international consequences. There are 1000 suspects on the ship. Jim and Diana must investigate the passengers’ varying accounts of who, was where, when. Then more crimes are committed, and the investigation gets really complicated.

Author March sets her tale at sea, using the mix of passengers, servants, and crew to build a diverse closed world. She has Captain Jim narrate the story. His point of view reflects growing up in an Indian orphanage, and working as a non-white in the British Army, as well as his intellect and continual learning. Having Jim (lower-class mixed-race) and Diana (high-class East Indian) interact with 19th century privileged white passengers adds depth.

March has written a perfect historical mystery with a locked room murder. The period details are fascinating, the characters interesting, the plot complicated. This is book 3 in the series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone. It’s 5 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️ Thank you to Minotaur Press, Nev March, and NetGalley for this early copy. Publishes September 12, 2023.

The Spanish Diplomat's Secret, the third and latest installment of the Captain James Agnihotri series, from author Nev March, is another meticulously crafted historical murder mystery, this time set up on a luxury cruise liner making it's way across the Atlantic from the US to Liverpool England. Set in the late 1890's, March weaves in countless historical details about day to day life aboard this ocean crossing vessel, from the lives and responsibilities of the crew to the detailed social conventions and protocols of the upper class passengers and their accompanying servants. For fans of historical fiction, especially those interested in Titanic era tales of luxury and intrigue, The Spanish Diplomat's Secret makes for an enjoyable read, and will offer the reader a vivid picture of the times.

For fans of mysteries, the writing varies in strength and effectiveness through out the book, but gains considerable focus and talent in the last quarter of the mystery comes to its conclusion. Early in the book however, the writing feels less focused, and the storytelling gets a bit muddled. This may be in part due to the challenges of writing a mystery set upon a cruise ship, with much of the plot revolving around structural details of the ship, which can be difficult to effectively communicate to the lay reader.

Additionally, the characters suffer at times from feeling a bit two dimensional. I enjoyed most all of the characters, and found myself wanting to know more of their personalities and back stories, and being able to better visualize them (both physically and personality wise) in my mind. Some of the dialogue suffered as well from feeling of two eras . . . the more formal era the book is set in, with more formal constructions of language, and also parts that felt more modern and informal in their construction. I found myself noticing this, and it took me as the reader out of my total imaginative immersion into the world and plot of the book.

Those criticisms notwithstanding, overall, I found the book a pleasant read, especially for fans of the mystery genre, especially of the Agatha Christie type. Would definitely make for a great selection to take along on a ocean cruise today, or perfect for a cozy, rainy weekend at home in your favorite chair.

In 1894, Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Diana board a transatlantic cruise liner bound for England under the names Captain James O’Trey. The first night Jim is seasick but helped by an older foreign gentleman. The next day this same gentleman sends a note to Jim for an urgent meeting, only it is too late. The gentleman has been murdered.

Discovering that Jim is a detective, the captain begs him to investigate and find the culprit before they reach Liverpool. This gives Jim exactly six days to interview 1,000 people. While he would like his wife to stay out of it, Jim is occasionally bedeviled with his seasickness and has no choice but to rely on his wife. Can the two discover why this man was murdered, as well as who amongst the 1,000 souls would want him dead, in such a short time?

The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret by Nev March is the third in the series, but it is the first that I have read by this author. This is not a standalone novel as the beginning left me with many questions. Particularly about their backstory, because there were references to his military career that just seemed pasted in but had no real bearing on what was going on. Maybe if I read the previous books then the characters wouldn’t feel so flat. I just couldn’t believe the narrator/detective James O’Trey. The culprit was obvious by chapter 33, but he just seemed to want to ignore what he was being told. For me, it felt like the mystery was being dragged out rather unnecessarily.

Overall, I rate this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

3.75

This was such a fun addition to this series! Captain Jim and Lady Diana are on their way to England when when a Spanish diplomat is murdered. What follows is a closed circle mystery as Captain Jim tries to figure out what happened before they arrive in Liverpool and cause an international incident.

I love the way Nev March weaves in elements of history into these stories, and how she allows those real historical events to play into the plots. In this case, we learn more about the Cold War between the US and Spain in regards to Cuba, as well as some tensions between European powers.

The pacing of this one did drag for me a little in the beginning but wow was the ending explosive, and I loved the way it all tied together. While this is the third in a series, I think as a mystery it stands well on its own and there are enough reminders of Jim and Diana’s interpersonal relationships that you wouldn’t feel lost if you didn’t read the first two.

I had both an eARC and ALC via NetGalley and listened to the whole book while occasionally using the ebook as a point of reference. The audiobook is narrated by Vikas Adam, who remains one of my favorite narrators.

Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framji are embarking to England in the summer of 1894 and are called on to investigate a locked room murder before the ship docks in Liverpool. And even though they’re quarreling, he’ll need Diana’s help with the first class passengers.

I struggled to get into this one even though I read the last book. I kept leaving it and coming back and always checking how much time was left. This locked door mystery was too slowly paced for me. Jim plods along second guessing things and Diana takes a backseat in the investigation, especially since we had her POV for most of the last book.

I’ll still read book 4, which was set up at the end of this book.

Captain Jim and Diana are bound for England on a Cunard liner. Poor Jim is sick as a dog the first evening and is assisted unexpectedly out on deck by a gentleman. The following day the same gentleman is dead. Murdered. Jim had hoped this voyage would give him time to discover what is wrong with Diana. Has he done something? Instead he is roped into finding a murderer to avert an international crisis. Investigating on board is akin to finding the way through a maze in a funhouse of mirrors. A very engrossing and complicated mystery!

The third story in this award-winning series features Captain Jim Agnihotri and Lady Diana embarking on a journey from their home in America to England at the behest of Diana's brother, Adi. Adi is in England on business and wants Jim's help with a matter he only wants to discuss in person. It suits Captain Jim since he has sensed a growing distance between himself and Diana. At first glance, the couple seems ill-assorted. Jim is a half-caste orphan invalided out of the Indian Army, and Diana is from a noble, wealthy Indian family and was university educated in England. Jim's service to the family (Murder in Old Bombay) made him almost a family member. They welcomed him with open arms when Diana set her cap for him. Diana usually gets what she wants! Jim's investigative skills, army background, and Diana's social skills make them a formidable duo.

As much as Jim is happy to take the journey, an old problem arises. Jim is a very bad sailor who never seems to quite overcome it. After one of his bouts, he goes out on the deck, hoping for fresh air and relief. While there, he meets an old soldier, Don Juan Nepomuceno. The two feel a sense of kinship, and the old man is kind to Jim. However, Don Juan is not universally loved, as becomes apparent when he is murdered in a grisly and very personal manner only a few hours later. His past includes the execution of many US Navy prisoners in Cuba years before. Many hate him, and some onboard have reason to do so. The fact that Don Juan is highly placed in the Spanish nobility threatens to create an international incident. The ship's captain asks Jim to find the killer before docking at Liverpool.

Hundreds of passengers are on the ship, from first class to second, and steerage. Then there is the crew. The author does a fine job of keeping them separate and distinct from each other. Diana, as always, involves herself but is limited to the first-class areas. Jim spends every waking hour, while not seasick, all over the ship and learning much about the operations of an ocean liner. Action and life-threatening danger are never far from the duo as they race to solve the murder.

I have enjoyed each of the books in this series and was not disappointed in The Spanish Diplomat's Secret. There is a foreshadowing of the next puzzle for Captain Jim and Lady Diana in the person of Adi. I will be looking forward to it.

Part of series with Captain Jim and Lady Dania who are on a trans Atlantic voyage when they get involved in solving a mysterious murder..
Drama,twists,suspense,mystery
An intriguing mystery.
Voluntarily reviewed.

This was a very enjoyable episode in the Captain Jim Agnihotri series of books.

Jim and Diana are sailing back to Liverpool on the luxury liner Erituria, in 1894, when a Spanish passenger, Don Juan Nepomuceno, is found murdered shortly after he sent a note asking to meet with Jim. When the captain of the ship discovers that Jim is an investigator, he asks him to help discover the murderer before the ship docks in England.

Over several days, Jim and Diana interview their fellow travelers, look for clues and follow the ideas of their hero Sherlock Holmes as they try and figure out what is going on aboard ship. Lots of different suspects are considered, several subplots and red herrings are thrown in, and Jim gets very discouraged as he deals with several bouts of seasickness while getting very worried that he will not solve the crime in time.

I really enjoy these characters, and their different cultural backgrounds. Nev March does a lovely job of setting the scene in both the time period and place, and the insights into the class and cultural differences of the times are well done.

I look forward to the next book in the series!

Thanks to St, Martins Press, Minotaur Books & NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review.

Book 3 in this marvelous series by Nev Marsh follows Captain Jim and Lady Diana as they take a relaxing ocean cruise to England only to have their vacation trip interrupted by Jim's seasickness and eventually the gruesome death of a passenger onboard. The ships captain enlists Jim, who has become a detective in America after his life in the British/Indian army, to lead the investigation into finding the murderer among the ships passengers and before they reach England. The book is set in the 1890's and even then there were cruise liners that plied the seas in luxury as it the case today, and while the ships were smaller back then there were still over 500 passengers or crew who could be the murderer. As always Lady Diana is a silent and reassuring presence and, in my opinion, has much more intuitive understanding of people, and solving clues. There are only 6 days in which to solve this murder, and along the way we meet many of the wealthy first class passengers, their aides, nurses and assistants, as well as many of the crew. Making this more intriguing is that the murder took place in a locked meeting room onboard this moving ship so there is nowhere for the assailant to hide.
And, as with all great mysteries, along the way we have people falling overboard, suicides, attacks on other passengers, and even an attack on Captain Jim! What elevates this novel is the wonderful use of history as part of the overall plot. Spain is in their usual state of civil war, the Spanish diplomat used to be the Spanish governor of Cuba, we learn how the Bases de Manresa situation fits into the plot, as well as the infamous Virginius affair in Cuba also is a driving force in the plot. As the author so eloquently puts it, "A murder and a suicide, occult sightings and stolen treasure. All on one ship." It is all here in a well written, well designed book that keeps us guessing until the very end!

Book 3 in this fine mystery series with Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framji, who both love Sherlock Holmes and sleuthing. A transatlantic voyage in the late 19th century, a locked-cabin murder, multicultural spice, and glorious prose. A winner!

The Spanish Diplomat's Secret is the third in a series. The central characters in all three books are Captain Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji. Murder in Old Bombay, the first book in the series, lays the groundwork. Specifically, March develops Captain Jim's fascination with Sherlock Holmes which leads to solving the murder of two women from a prominent Indian family. Lady Diana, a member of this family, joins the search and falls in love with Captain Jim. Lady Diana's involvement in solving murders is a constant throughout the series.

In Peril at the Exposition, the newlyweds are settled in Boston. Captain Jim is a detective who deals with a murder set during the World's Fair in Chicago. These two books blend easily into The Spanish Diplomat's Secret. The setting is a voyage to England, when the Spanish Diplomat is murder, While the passengers are captive on the sea voyage, that actually only serves to complicate the murder investigation. March leads the plot through multiple possible accomplices and motives.

As in the earlier two books, there are innumerable plot twists and turns. Well written, you will have a hard time putting it down as each page promises a fresh surprise.

The Spanish Diplomat's Secret is my first read by Nev March in this series. The third in the Captain Jim and Lady Diana series, this story takes place on a transatlantic crossing as the title characters head from the US to England. The journey is filled with murder and mayhem shortly after Captain Jim meets a Spanish diplomat who is well connected in Spain. Captain Jim, a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, relies on the consulting detective stories to help inspire him to solve the case. The mystery is filled with red herrings and murder suspects as the characters race across the Atlantic and face literal storms at sea. I found the story itself seemed to drag in spots, but overall liked the characters and setting that I wanted to see the conclusion, which did not disappoint. I recommend this book for those who enjoy historical fiction mysteries and enjoy Sherlock Holmes.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Jim Agnihotri, tasked with determining who on the ocean liner killed the Spanish diplomat, relies on his investigative skills as well as Diana’s instincts to come up with a pool of likely suspects. The case is complicated by some seemingly unrelated incidents and several red herrings and Jim has to figure out what is relevant and what is not. Jim seems to plod along, second guessing himself throughout. The first half of the novel moved at too slow a pace and it’s only once a second mystery develops that the momentum speeds up. I figured out the identity of the murderer before Jim did!

The Spanish Diplomat's Secret is historical fiction that is true to the time period in which the story takes place. It’s the third novel in this series and I liked it the least of the three. It is not necessary to have read the previous two novels, although they provide more information on Jim’s background. The novel ends with hints of an upcoming fourth mystery for Jim to solve.

This is a perfect traditional historical mystery – author March utilizes classic tropes like setting her book on an ocean liner, challenging the seasick detective (who is obsessed with Sherlock Holmes) to solve the case before the ship lands in England, and lining up a variety of suspects (aka characters) with shady or unknown pasts, including some exotic foreigners. It’s all very Agatha Christie.

As the book opens, Jim Agnihotri and his bride Diana are making an ocean crossing from the US to England in 1894. The voyage is somewhat spoiled for Jim because of his extreme seasickness, but he soldiers on. Jim has a late night conversation with a fellow passenger, a mysterious Spanish grandee of some sort. Both of the men have served in the army and find a kinship. The next day, the Spanish man in murdered, and the captain challenges Jim, who actually works as a detective, to solve the case.

Jim and Diana between them sort out that the killer probably came from the first class passengers, or maybe second class, as all other classes are locked below and can’t access the deck. This cuts the suspect pool only very slightly, leaving Jim with many, many people to question. This is a novel, however, so March keeps the suspect pool a reasonable size, concentrating on a ship’s officer, a handful of first class passengers, and the Spanish diplomat’s wife and their servants. The wife has secluded herself in her cabin, only emerging briefly, heavily swathed in black. The dead man obviously had some kind of secret, but what it might be is only patiently uncovered by the author throughout the novel.

Meanwhile there’s another incident: a suicide of one of the maids, who jumps overboard. While the ship backtracks and makes every attempt to find her, she cannot be found and they must move on, leaving her for dead. Her bunkmate insists that the voyage is cursed and their cabin is haunted. Diana, who has a fondness for strays, takes the young woman into her and Jim’s cabin. Another attack and a disappearance make everything more complicated. While Jim and Diana are sure everything is connected, they really aren’t sure quite how, and the overabundance of suspects and clues snarls everything up.

This has a well assembled and meticulous plot but I also feel March is at her strongest when she writes about character: Jim’s traumatic memories of battle; a distance between Jim and Diana that Jim just can’t figure out; and even a mysterious process Diana uses to locate a missing person about halfway through the book. Diana’s method relates back to her Zoroastrian culture and references her Indian background. These are strong elements and March would do well to emphasize them. I enjoyed the solid mystery and the deft creation of life on board ship, but what I came away with were slices of character. Even the character of the murderer, when revealed, is memorable and haunting. I look forward to more installments in this fledgling series.

"In The Spanish Diplomat's Secret, award-winning author Nev March explores the vivid nineteenth-century world of the transatlantic voyage, one passenger's secret at a time.

Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framji are embarking to England in the summer of 1894. Jim is hopeful the cruise will help Diana open up to him. Something is troubling her, and Jim is concerned.

On their first evening, Jim meets an intriguing Spaniard, a fellow soldier with whom he finds an instant kinship. But within twenty-four hours, Don Juan Nepomuceno is murdered, his body discovered shortly after he asks rather urgently to see Jim.

When the captain discovers that Jim is an investigator, he pleads with Jim to find the killer before they dock in Liverpool in six days, or there could be international consequences. Aboard the beleaguered luxury liner are a thousand suspects, but no witnesses to the locked-cabin crime. Jim would prefer to keep Diana safely out of his investigation, but he's doubled over, seasick. Plus, Jim knows Diana can navigate the high society world of the ship's first-class passengers in ways he cannot.

Together, using the tricks gleaned from their favorite fictional sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, Jim and Diana must learn why one man's life came to a murderous end."

Yes, yes, this week is ALL about Sherlock Holmes!

4.5 / 5.0 stars

Author Nev March spins a wonderful tale, filled with adventure, mystery, and a touch of romance. The writing is excellent and highly descriptive. In this installment of the Captain Jim and Lady Diana Mystery series, one is swept away on a magnificent Cunard ocean liner, HMS Etruria, traversing the Atlantic and experiencing marvelous scene settings, descriptions of exquisite attire, beautifully presented culinary treats and society's mannerly practices. Nev March's rich understanding of society, delicate international diplomacy, classism of the 1890s, and history of the day is beautifully rendered. The way in which she writes dialogue among people of differing cultures and class is insightful and delivers a strong understanding of why things ultimately had to change.

Early on in the story there's a death aboard ship. Owing to the delicate nature of Anglo-Spanish relations, the ship's captain calls upon Jim, a Boston private detective, to lead the investigation concerning the death, which absolutely must be resolved before docking in Liverpool. Given the tremendous number of possible suspects, Jim is affronted with dead ends and red herrings at every turn. Fleshing out the truth within the witness statements is nerve-wracking. Will Jim be able to solve this mystery in the nick of time to salvage international relations and his own reputation? Perhaps with his dear Diana's assistance. Tick tock, tick tock.

The story was thoroughly captivating and I eagerly await the next book in series as it makes its way into the world.

I am grateful to publisher Minotaur Books for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publication Date: 09/12/2023
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 978-1250855077
No. of pages: 320

The best description of this book is a good- old-fashioned page- turner mystery. It will not take you very long and you will be totally hooked. The time is 1894 and the setting is a steam ship. It is a captive environment so it shouldn't take long to solve a case...Right? I read an electronic copy courtesy of Net Galley for review purposes. I didn't realize this was part of a series, it read great as a stand alone book. I will be looking for the previous volumes. I highly recommend this book.