Death on the Ice is a quirky, modern version of an Agatha Christie novel.
It seems like the Arctic is the new go-to location for authors, and this is a good example of the genre.
We are taken on board The Dauphin, a ship heading to the Arctic Circle. The research scientists on board are being funded by the fabulously, wealthy elite who are after a trip with something different. The scientists, twins Drs Rose and Finn Blanchard are going on a trip in a submersible vehicle to study the Greenland Shark. Their wealthy backers will be quaffing champagne, touring around on snowmobiles and hopefully seeing the Aurora Borealis.
Unfortunately, the twins come to the surface after one of their dives to find that one of the other travellers has been murdered, by being harpooned while they were on the ice sheet.
Detectives Tom Heissman and Titus Williams are flown on board The Dauphin to investigate. Together with the twins, they must find out the murderer where everyone is a suspect and everyone has an alibi.
I thought the setting was brilliant and the characters held together well. The only flaw was the story slowed down too much in the middle and a lot of tension was lost. Overall though, a great read.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley, R O Thorp and especially Faber & Faber for the much appreciated ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

This is the best book I have read in absolutely age, it is just excellent. A fabulous set of scientific twins are at the heart of the book, doing their sea research on a luxury yacht. Murder puts a stop in the cruise’s plans and brings the police into it. The characters on the ship are so well described, their features, their personalities and what they are hiding. There are in-jokes that come to light, games that are played and all the while a murder hunt is going on. The action take place over only a few days, yet the relationship are given real depth in that time and the author managed to create real affection for the characters and I wanted no one to be the murderer. A few twists are thrown in for good measure as well as a bit of scientific research that added to the ambiance. Absolutely worth a read.

🚢 A luxury cruise in the Arctic
A scientist gets murdered on ice ❄️
Lots of suspects

🚢 Pick this up if you like/ don’t mind:
📌 Agatha Christie vibes
📌 classic murder mystery/ locked room
📌 plot that will keep you guessing
📌 whodunnit
📌 slow burn
📌 huge cast of characters/ sibling duo
📌 queer love story
📌 plenty of twists

🚢 I really liked the concept of the book and the cold mysterious atmosphere it created. The writing style was quite different from what I usually read but still I enjoyed it. Talking about the characters I just felt that there were a LOT of them, to the point where I needed a second book to keep track of them. It took me ages to remember who was who. However I loved the characters of Blanchard twins, their sibling bond was PERFECT. The book was a classic example of a locked room mystery where every character seemed a tiny bit suspicious. Though I failed to solve the murder but I did have my suspicions on him/her at one point. Rest of the twists also came as a total surprise.

🚢 Overall it was a good murder mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and author for the ARC.

The Blanchard Twins - Rose and Finn are scientists on board a luxury cruise ship to use the submersible for their science experiments of the Greenland Sharks. The characters are quirky and likeable and along with ship's passengers, crew and scientists are caught short when someone is fatally murdered in the middle of the Arctic. They are sought out to help investigate as they have locked in alibis as they were below the ship. This was a delightful read and the ending came as a surprise!

Really struggled to get into this.

Loved the voice however the story itself felt a bit to long for me. I feel like the first half could have been cut in two, and then we could get into the really good murder mystery!

I am rating this book a rounded up 1.5 stars. The positives were that the writing, in a sense of grammar and vocabulary is done well and that the setting and nature are described well. Aside from that, I really couldn’t enjoy this book.

The concept, a murder mystery on a half scientific, half luxurious cruise, felt fresh and exciting yet the book simply did not deliver. Many characters were introduced from the start and at no point did I connect with any of them or care to remember any of their details. It took me until at least half way through to recognise who each person was. This is probably part of the reason why the relationships felt entirely two dimensional and I had no expectations or hopes for any of them. The very minimal references to romance felt immature and incredibly unrealistic.

The writing style made it feel impossible to get to grips with what was actually going on. This meant I lost interest in looking out for clues which I usually love with this genre. The dialogue felt unrealistic and the addition of people’s thoughts mid way through their speaking meant I lost track so easily.

As for the mystery element, I didn’t feel anything was a plot twist or a satisfying answer. Nothing led to any degree of suspense and the explanation felt almost pointless.

It took me a very long time to finish this book as there was no point where I felt hooked or desperate to find answers.

I apologise to the author if it’s merely a matter of a different taste in writing style, but I’ve read many mysteries and thrillers and none have left me this disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The idea of a closed room mystery on board a luxury cruise vessel in the Arctic plus eccentric, very rich passengers and supportive crew had definite appeal. From the start, however, I found the dialogue clunky and un-necessarily complicated as well as over the top, back biting/snide comments between the scientists. It just felt nasty, not fun. Identical twin sisters Rose and Finn, although Finn has now transitioned, are looking for Greenland sharks, Finn's speciality, and have an ideal job apparently. They have access to state of the art photography and sound recording, their own submersible and access to the icy Arctic waters. Their presence of the cruise vessel is a bit odd but presumably looks good to the very rich passengers who fund their work to a degree. The problem comes when they return to the surface and find one of the passengers spread-eagled on the ice with a harpoon gun through his chest. The twins start to question said passengers and soon determine that there are plenty of undertones and then two British detectives, who happened to be on Svalbard, were flown out to the cruise vessel. They are a strange pair but work well together and gradually draw conclusions about some of the passengers. More deaths occur, diamonds are discovered, romances start to blossom, and detract from the murder story. Descriptions of the Arctic are spot on and are definitely the best part. The whole book rather drags on at times and, at times, it was hard to continue but I did and the ending tied things up. 3.5* but not quite enough to roundup. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I was gifted this ARC as part of netgalley. Overall 2.5 stars. I was looking forward to nice cozy ‘who dunnit’ but I almost Dnfed this many times because of the amount of character dump initially. It picks up by about 30% into the book. Very predictable mystery. I wanted to finish reading the book as soon as I can and it wasn’t because I enjoyed it unfortunately.

A descriptive and interesting setting. I really liked the scientist angle and enjoyed the twin main characters/sleuths. The pacing I did struggle with a lot, meant I couldn't get past the beginning. I can recommend this novel for those who would enjoy a unique mystery but wasn't for me at this time!
The opening just felt a bit clunky and I struggled to keep all the characters separate.

I loved this book it was just what I needed recovering from the Flu. The setting is superb, like a locked room scenario . The characters made me laugh, smile and grimace, reminding me of folks I actually know; that shows how well they are written. A great tale, I will have to watch out for more of this authors work.

A captivating mystery at sea.

Meet The Dauphin - a state of the art scientific research vessel, with 6 luxurious state rooms built to be home to the wealthiest looking for a trip with a difference. At £24,000 a head, taking paying visitors helps fund the science taking place in the laboratories below deck. There's also a deep sea submersible for exploring the depths of the ocean, which is handy for Dr Finn Blanchard, on board to research the elusive and long-lived Greenland Shark.

The Dauphin is headed up to the Arctic Circle. Alongside Finn is his protective twin sister, Rose - herself a scientist focussing on more tropical climes.

One by one we meet the crew and guests on board. The passenger list is limited by the size of the ship and cost to travel, giving us a group pf characters to focus on, each with their own quirks. The most obnoxious being Dr Ben Sixgill, who manages to get the backs up of nearly everyone on board.

Called back to the surface during a trip in the submersible, Rose and Finn emerge from the vessel to find that Dr Sixgill is dead. Harpooned on the ice sheet near the ship. Stranded up in the Arctic, Rose and Finn are the only people with a firm alibi, and suspicion falls on every one else on board.

Help is at hand, with British police officers Tom Heissen and Titus Williams, at this point stationed up in Svalbard, on the trail of a smuggling ring. As the nearest officers, they board the ship, and make use of the twins' scientific minds to help solve a seemingly impossible murder.

The novel reads like a classic murder mystery in a modern setting, and is great fun to read. The characters are well written, and I felt compelled to keep reading into the early hours to find out whodunnit. Layers of secrets are peeled back until we find out everyone's deep hidden secrets, and uncover who hated Dr Sixgill enough to kill him. The author has crafted wonderful characters that we really root for, and I'm excited to hear the Blanchard twins will be back for another adventure.

Death on Ice is out on February 13th.

Many thanks to the author, the published Faber & Faber Ltd and Netgalley for the advance digital copy for review.

Death on Ice has such a good premise, and indeed, the book is very enjoyable, but it does take a little while to get going. For those unsure about it, I would recommend ploughing on through the first 25% until we get to the crux of the matter.

This isn't really a story about a crime-fighting duo, or if it is, it's not the twins who are our crime fighters, but rather the two police characters, flown to the ship and asked to disentangle the complex murder, while also trying to solve the crime that has them in the Arctic Circle in the first place.

I enjoyed the writing style of the author, but it did take a little bit of getting used to. This is 'a busy book' as in, every word counts. That might sound strange, but often, especially with cosy mysteries, there are some elements that are story-filler and not story-related. This to me, felt a little bit like The West Wing of old, and other TV shows that are conversation and plot heavy i.e. you actually have to pay attention throughout the whole episode, and you need to do this with Death on Ice. It's not a bad thing, once you realise it.

And it is a cleverly spun tale, and by the end of it, I was entirely enthralled with our four main characters and some of the others besides (our lovely sleepy shark). I certainly did not guess the resolution.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

I thought from the description that this 'who dunnit' was going to be based on two scientist twins but found that this was really far from the truth.
Hardly Agatha Christie but the book was an OK read, sometimes too slow and drawn out with little excitement or expectation.
My thanks anyway to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for this arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

An Artic cruiseship, with research scientists mixing with the ridiculously wealthy. A submersible vehicle allowing underwater research into the Greenland shark whilst the well-to-do watch on, go on snowmobiles and watch the Aurora borealis.

Whilst two scientists are in the submersible, a body is discovered out on the ice. One of the scientists has been shot dead with harpoon.
Everyone is a suspect, except Rose and Finn, who were underwater at the time.
Detectives Tom Hessian and Titus are flown on board to investigate.

The setting for this novel is lovely and really well described. You do get the feeling of isolation and cold from being in the arctic but also the luxury of the ship. The cast of characters are ok but I did find the authors constantly interrupting conversations to describe a thought mid-sentence very off-putting. The thought being described was sometimes so long, I'd forget who it was that was talking, once they continued.
Once I'd noticed this, every time it happened I found myself withdrawn from the story. As silly a thing as this is, it probably ruined the book for me.

I thought the two detectives, Tom and Titus worked well together and had a very good rapport. The romances on ship worked quite well and the overall plot was OK. The setting is really the star of this story.

Worth a read but I did find this a little to easy to put down.

I would like to convey my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel. All opinions are my own.

A cozy mystery set on an arctic cruise ship. Told from different points of view, Titus and Tom are the main detectives, helped by twin scientists, Finn & Rose and there are plenty of otehr passengers and a few of the ships crew to keep track of. The plot is intricate & cryptic to the extent that I did lose the thread at times. On the whole, I thought the book was too long, some one had been murdered before the boat set off, but the other deaths started well into the book. I did like the personal stories of the characters, though some parts were a little irrelevant, the romantic side stories added interest but the attractions were not really explicit which semed a bit wishy washy .
An ok read, not really my style . Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

Such a fun read! The characters were all so vivid and eccentric and fun.
The mystery itself was well done but also confusingly laid out, sometimes it seemed like there were long gaps between anything happening.
It was interesting to have two main narrators and then occasionally tidbits of narration from other characters here and there but it was really well done.

I love a rich people locked room mystery and this one did it so well, I did want more science from the other scientists but that's the geek in me.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy!

3.5 out of 5

This is one murder mystery that didn't do anything wrong but just didn't grip me. Death on Ice isn't one I'd discourage anyone from reading but for some reason I wasn't as enthused by it as I hoped.

The story follows a group of scientists on a luxury cruise ship as they deal with the murder of a colleague. Rose & Finn, the Blanchard twins and scientists on the Dauphin, become involved in the investigation and pursue an answer to this murder with the desire to bring the murderer to justice.

Thorp writes an admirable story with a good cast of characters. The story is more in line with the cosy murder mysteries rather than a dark, brutal murder mystery. So for anyone who enjoys mysteries, like The Thursday Murder Club, there'll be lots to enjoy in Death on Ice.

My biggest complaint would be the length of the book. At almost 400 pages it feels like it is only slightly too long. Thankfully Thorp keeps the mystery going and adds the essential red herrings to keep the intrigue going to the end.

There's a surprising timelessness to the story. While it is a modern investigation the language and melody of the dialogue is akin to Agatha Christie's writing making it feel like it would fit into a 1930's timeframe.

Objectively, there isn't much to criticise about the book and it is one worth checking out if you are a fan of the genre.

It's perfectly fine. The central characters are well drawn and despite eccentricities feel like real people. I wasn’t convinced that the story needed the addition of the two police detectives as it did detract from the twins (and when I say twins, it’s primarily Rose who we get insight into, along with her thoughts on Finn). There’s a mixed bag of passengers and fellow scientists and…

I’ll be honest, I found some of it slow going. After an excellent teaser in the first chapter that ends with a dead body, I could have done with the actual first murder happening a bit sooner. There’s quite a lot of talking and for when things do happen, I could have done with a plan of the boat. Who knows, maybe it’s in the non-review copy.

It does get rather complicated towards the end, as to who did what and why, but I’d rather see that than something where one character did it and the rest were there just to pad out the cast, although the introduction of the backstory of a couple of characters did seem to come out of nowhere (and go the same place).

As I said, it’s fine. It didn’t really grab me, but potentially I wasn’t quite focused as I’m struggling with a heavy cold at the mo. Why not try it and see what you think?

I think this is a great premise for a book, with the atmosphere of the ice and luxury cruise ship really leaning into the idea of a locked room murder. I thought the scene was set nicely and the division between scientist, holidayer and staff quickly indicated there was potential for misunderstandings! Occasionally there was a surfeit of adjectives when describing a scene, albeit nicely descriptive, and I think some more editorial support would have helped with this.

Unfortunately I didn't feel that the characters or relationships that developed were particularly believable - they all played their set role for the plot but the elaborate dialogue kept my investment at that surface level. I also lost interest slightly with the multiple subplots that spun out, particularly when revelations occurred which only had the vaguest advance signposting so couldn't be worked out by the reader as part of the mystery (eg. Dr Palgrave or Alicia Grey). These quibbles may just be my personal preference though in terms of how I approach detective books.

This might have been the formatting from the kindle version I read but I sometimes found the switch between the boat and the police duo a bit sudden as, beside a new paragraph, there wasn't anything to indicate a change in location.

Siblings Rose and Finn Blanchard are cruising the Arctic circle but in a working capacity as scientists on a research trip. They are on board with a cluster of fellow scientists and mostly set apart from the wealthy passengers travelling in luxury. That is, until a scientist who has brushed every single person up the wrong way is murdered on the ice. The only two people who could not have killed him are Rose and Finn as they were inside a submersible looking for sharks on the seabed. Everybody else, crew included, are suspects. Detectives are in the region investigating another crime and join the ship to investigate with the help of the Blanchards. They must discover whodunnit before another murder occurs.

Debut novel of Australian-born author (now living in Ireland) Death on Ice is a cosy murder mystery with characters who think and talk in an unusually wordy style which takes some getting used to. The Blanchards and police detectives are enjoyable characters, and the Arctic setting adds a nice touch. 3.5 stars