I found this book to be slow paced and difficult to get invested in. There was a clear lack of tension throughout the book, even as events were unfolding, I didn't find myself, or the characters feeling any sense of urgency. The plot was slow and often complicated, and with the amount of characters involved, it was sometimes hard to keep track of what was happening. I wish there had been more personality shown by the main character, Pat Gallagher, but he remained bland and without depth while he interacted with characters and tried to solve the mystery, The setting was nice, and the background knowledge of the war made the story more interesting, but I wish the actual story we were following had a bit more excitement and life to it.

Mysterious, captivating, and atmospheric!

Death on the Lusitania is an Agatha Christie-like murder mystery set during 1915 on the infamous HMS Lusitania that features the savvy Patrick Gallagher who, when shortly after departure from New York, one of the travellers winds up dead in a locked cabin with no murder weapon in sight, endeavours to a find the murderer onboard amongst a passenger list riddled with secrets, deception, and ulterior motives.

The prose is descriptive and light. The characters are multi-layered, intriguing, and secretive. And the plot is a well-paced, locked-door style whodunit full of red herrings, suspects, amateur sleuthing, deduction, danger and, of course, a touch of the unexpected.

Overall, Death on the Lusitania is the first book in the Patrick Gallagher series, and if you love historical mysteries, this one won’t disappoint. It’s an entertaining, cosy, satisfying debut by the writing duo of Graham, and I can only hope, even with the tragic loss of one half of this dynamic team, that there is still more to come.

Princess Fuzzypants here: I love to read historical fiction that is so well researched and well written that the reader has to wonder if the story heaves close to reality. Set on the doomed liner, the U-boats are not the only threat to the ship. There are so many double and triple crosses going on that one continues to guess which side of the war are the various characters on. There are also deceits and nefarious doings of a more personal nature and some of the espionage intertwines with the sordid. There are only a couple of characters with whom the reader can be sure of their allegiances. There are plots upon plots and the two murders only play a small part in the big picture.

This is a book that is a page turner and really kept me riveted. Written by a husband and wife team, sadly the wife passed away before the book was published. This was such a good tale, I am sorry there will not be more. Five purrs and two paws up.