Uncertain Voyage

This book took me back in time. Although it was first published in 1967 it has all the hallmarks of the 30s', 40s', and 50s' mysteries that I enjoyed in my youth.

Melissa is traveling to Europe on a ship (not one of the monsters of today) in an effort to regain some sense of self after her divorce. She realized, with the help of a therapist, that she had been hiding herself all these years and had built barriers around her heart. The trip was a way to help break down preconceptions and barriers, to explore, to find out more about herself.

One night, near the end of the cruise, Melissa is approached by a man who asks her to deliver a package to somebody in Majorca. He is scheduled to go to Majorca himself, but he says he doesn't think he show more will make it. Melissa does not know what to make of this request but says yes because she is a "pleaser". Nevertheless, she frets about it and would like to forget that the request was ever made.

However, she finds that she is being followed while in various European cities, and she believes the package is the reason.

She is challenged on many levels to make decisions herself, to do what it takes to care for herself, to avoid danger but face it boldly when required. It is an eventful trip in several ways, and I really enjoyed watching it play out. Gilman seems to have quite a grasp of the "human condition", based on the conversations Melissa has with others as well as with herself. show less

While the bare bones of this mystery are standard fare, the exploration of what it means to be alive - what it means to be ones self - what makes life meaningful in fact - these are the interesting things about this novel. Another nice touch is the fact that Melissa finds such reserves of self - I always enjoy strong heroines.

This was my first introduction to Dorothy Gilman. I had a four book sampler box set and this is the one I chose to dig into to.

There is no mystery here - at the beginning, on a trip, she is handed a book to deliver for a secret agent when she gets to an eventual destination. Not taking it that seriously, she later learns the man has been killed and has to decide whether to deliver the book.

Well, most of the time she isn't thinking of that - she has a sweet love affair in a town that occupies most of her thoughts. Most of the book is her digging into herself, finding her way through life during a self-discovery trip alone. The book and crime sit in the background. Unfortunately the female lead comes across very weak, dependent, and show more miserable.

She's such a .... grim character. She doesn't know what happiness is and doesn't know what she wants. She is pessimistic, always searching, doubtful even when good things are present, and sometimes seems even borderline suicidal. She mentions at the beginning that she just left psychiatric treatment and left a miserable marriage behind. Even at one point toward the end she seems calm about the thought of death.

The character evolves at the end, which brings the book up a bit, but the journey to get there was bleak, dragging, and not very pleasant. As I said, there is no mystery, it's a crime piece. The ending is a little too convenient too, no clever twists.

I will read another of Gilman, her writing style is good, and hope it is better than this one. show less