Wed 9 Aug 2017
Mystery Review: CONRAD ALLEN – Murder on the Mauretania.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[11] Comments
CONRAD ALLEN – Murder on the Mauretania. George Porter Dillman & Genevieve Masefield #2. St. Martin’s Press, hardcover, December 2000; paperback, January 2002. Gerald Duckworth and Co Ltd, UK, softcover, 2002.
If I can’t read a mystery taking place on a train, the next best thing is one that takes place on an ocean liner crossing either the Atlantic or the Pacific. It’s a happy combination of travel, limited access, and the proximity of new people to meet — and once a murder has been committed, a whole list of possible suspects.
This second adventure in crime for the detective twosome of George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield takes place in 1906 aboard the maiden voyage of the Mauretania, the pride of the Cunard Line — the biggest and the fastest at the time and for many years to come. They met in Murder on the Lusitania, the first book in the series and are now not only co-workers on board ship, but lovers as well.
Conrad Allen certainly did his research before tackling this book, and it shows. Details of life aboard all three the ship’s passenger levels are described in detail, from the elegance of first class as compared to the cramped quarters of third.
The book starts out leisurely enough, with the only crimes Dillman is required to investigate are some thefts of silver jewelry, and he very quickly has his eye on the most likely suspect. But after a hige afternoon squall, the man has disappeared. He’s nowhere to be found. Has it anything to due with a fortune in gold bullion the ship is also carrying?
You bet it does.
And lest you think Genevieve Masefield has nothing to with the story, her portion of the job is to mingle with the passengers in first class, and keep on eye on an elegant lady who seems to have nothing in common with the man who is masquerading as her husband.
A long, nearly 300 pages of fine, sophisticated detective work. I think Dillman and Masefield could not help but love their jobs!
The George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield series —
1. Murder on the Lusitania (1999)
2. Murder On the Mauretania (2000)
3. Murder On the Minnesota (2002)
4. Murder on the Caronia (2003)
5. Murder on the Marmora (2004)
6. Murder on the Salsette (2005)
7. Murder on the Oceanic (2006)
8. Murder on the Celtic (2007)
NOTE: Conrad Allen is but one of the pen names to have been used by British author Keith Miles, aka David Garland, Martin Inigo, Edward Marston, and Christopher T Mountjoy.
August 9th, 2017 at 10:46 pm
As an added afterthought, I could easily see William Powell and Myrna Loy as the intrepid detective duo in this series.
August 9th, 2017 at 10:49 pm
Or if those two weren’t available, off doing another series, then perhaps Edmund Lowe and Claudette Colbert.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:07 pm
A series I will have to track down. Elegance, charm, wit, history, and crime at sea … It sounds ideal.
August 10th, 2017 at 12:26 am
I seem to have missed this series myself, the first time around. I will be looking for more. I imagine the series came to a halt when Allen ran out of ships the two detectives could sail on together.
Another series that I have known about but have not dipped into yet is one the same author wrote as by Edward Marston. There are some 15 books in his Inspector Robert Colbeck, aka The Railway Detective, set of mysteries. They take place in England in the mid-19th century, but that’s all I know about them.
August 10th, 2017 at 12:02 am
Is there a list somewhere or a bibliography I can consult of (fictional) crimes taking place on trains? I’m interested in well-planned assassinations on trains and that kind of thing. Anyone know of any?
August 10th, 2017 at 12:32 am
For starters you could take a look at a checklist of mysteries on trains compiled by David Vineyard here on this blog: https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1946
I don’t know how many of them involve assassination attempts, however.
David also wrote a piece called CRIME FICTION AND THE MYSTIQUE OF TRAINS, again for this blog. You can find it here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=31736
August 10th, 2017 at 8:45 am
Speaking of murder on a ship, that may have occurred during the recent cruise I took on the Queen Mary 2 to Hay On Wye in the UK. The departure of the ship was delayed for 3 or so hours while the FBI investigated the disappearance of a woman passenger.
The ship had just arrived from England and was about to make the return trip but we never heard the results of the investigation. Was she pushed off the ship or did she commit suicide? Or maybe an accident.
August 10th, 2017 at 7:24 pm
Thank you, Steve. David V. comes through for me yet again!
August 11th, 2017 at 8:04 am
I’ve enjoyed the “Edward Marston” books so I’ll track down this series, too. When does Keith Miles sleep? He’s incredibly prolific!
August 11th, 2017 at 10:13 am
Now that he’s 77 this year, I see that Marston is still writing only two series, the first about the Railway Detective, and the second a series about the Homefront Detective, taking place in England during World War I.
August 11th, 2017 at 1:37 pm
Keith Miles’s bibliography is three pages long! I like the Railway Detective series as well as the Homefront Detective. I’m amazed Miles is able to keep the quality of his books so high given his productivity.