The Widow's Cruise

A good but not great Nigel Strangeways mystery. Part of the Country House sub genre, which limits the suspects and induces a certain claustrophobia for the characters.
A small cruise ship (around 70 cabins) stands in for the more usual country house, so Blake can add the charm of Greece and a bit of academic knowledge as well.
An obnoxious little girl is murdered (no spoiler: you can see this coming almost from her first appearance in the book), and another passenger has disappeared. Surely these must be connected, but how?
An experienced mystery reader will recognize the solution fairly easily, as the hints are clear. Even so, this is an interesting way to pass a few hours, and Blake’s writing never fails to give pleasure.

Charming in the classic British style; even moving the action to Greece doesn't change the traditional structure. Blake's novels are always more about the people than any forensic investigation. The solution is foreshadowed almost from the start, which doesn't take any joy away from seeing how they get there. Tricky, intellectual & great fun.

Enjoyable middle-tier Blake. The central gimmick was well-worn in 1959, and will be quite obvious to those who have read their Christie.

3½ Stars