The cargo ship Jane Vosper is sunk one day on its usual run between London and Buenos Aires. Sabotage is suspected, possibly for the insurance money. Naturally, the insurance firm wants to exhaust all avenues before paying up, so they hire an investigator to look into the matter. But then the investigator disappears. Enter Inspector French…

I thoroughly enjoyed this installment in the French series. Granted, I am rather nerdy about boats *and* insurance, so this ticked two major boxes for me. Readers who like lots of car chases or thrilling set pieces may find this book rather slow for their tastes. Other readers who appreciate seeing real police work—methodically following up on each lead, continually challenging one’s assumptions and research—will find this book interesting and possibly even soothing in its way. This may be my favourite French so far.

For those who are concerned about series order: the book does make reference to a few previous cases, but does not give away the identities of criminals in previous books, as far as I can tell. So you could read out of order (which is what I’m doing, honestly). ( )

A series of mysterious explosions sinks a British cargo ship en route from Britain to Brazil, setting off an inquiry into possible sabotage which eventually involves Inspector French.. As usual with Crofts, solid and intellectually satisfying. ( )