Danger on the SS Orient (Murder Mystery Book Club #2) by C.A. Larmer

Danger on the SS Orient (Murder Mystery Book Club #2) Reviews

• 
  James

  3.5 stars to the second book, Murder on the Orient (SS), in the Agatha Christie Book Club mystery series, written by C.A. Larmer. I read the first book in this series last year and hadn't realized several more were already written. This installment was on-sale via Amazon last week for only .99, so I purchased it and found time to catch up this week as I'm focusing on a goal to get current with all my book series. All-in-all, it was a clever mystery with lots of fun stuff.
  
  Alicia and her sister take a cruise near Australia. It's a modernization (of sorts) of a similar one that tread the ocean in the early 20th century when the Titanic went down. It's meant to be similar to the fateful train ride in Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. With a cast of a dozen or so strange and hilarious travelers, Alicia's book club friends try to settle into a good time... until the Captain's wife is thrown overboard and another patron has a supposed heart attack. When a third victim turns up, something is definitely off! The book club tries to investigate, but one of them, Anders, asks them to stay out of it, as he's the temporary doctor on the ship. Something's not right, and Alicia won't let it sit tight. Of course, she must investigate. When she solves the crime, there are remnants of the fateful train ride it's meant to shadow, but I assure you, the killer is not the same sort of type. It's quite a new version in this book.
  
  I've got mixed feelings on this book. Parts were very strong. Parts were weak. I felt the book club characters were a little too vague and disconnected. Alicia wasn't as invested as she was in the first book, but she did play a good detective again. It was missing something, yet I can't quite put my finger on the root cause. That said, much of it was good. The mystery was strong and had lots of red herrings, angles and valid facts. There were a few plot lines weaving together, and ultimately, they had something to do with each of the deaths. But how they all interacted was quite a mystery until the very end.
  
  I like Larmer's writing style. There are a few quirks in the story and character dialog, which may or may not be American versus British English, then some Australian being thrown in on the cruise. I found myself thinking "that's an odd response" hoping it would later be clarified, but it wasn't. Maybe it was me! I still enjoyed the story and the overall setting. I will read the next one soon, too.
• 
  Phrynne

  I enjoyed this second instalment of the Agatha Christie Book Club. There is not much about the actual Book Club except that all its members go on a short cruise together and get themselves involved in solving a murder or three. And of course the title is based on a very famous Christie who dunnit.
  
  The setting was great - murders on ships are always entertaining, because they are contained. The murderer has to still be there somewhere when your murder scene is floating in the middle of the ocean miles from anywhere. Working out who committed the crimes and why was possible although the author tried a tricky manoeuvre right at the end. I had a small problem with the Book Club members who, apart from Alicia and Anders could have stayed home since they played such peripheral roles.
  
  Still a very enjoyable and fast read. I will look out for book 3.
• 
  Brenda

  Persuaded by Alicia’s friend, Dr Anders, to join the Orient (SS) in Sydney as it cruised through to Auckland, she and her Agatha Christie Book Club friends did that very thing. Several people had disembarked in Sydney, making the cabins available – the journey had started in England and there were around 400 passengers on board. Dr Anders had replaced the original doctor who was unable to complete the cruise…no one knew why.
  
  The ship was a replica of the steamship, the SS Orient, and the book club friends were fascinated – and looking forward to the few days at sea. They had no idea they would soon become embroiled in a murder mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s "Murder on the Orient Express" – but would they solve the riddle as the magnificent Hercule Poirot himself did?
  
  As first one passenger died under suspicious circumstances, then another disappeared over the side of the ship, Alicia and her fellow sleuths scrambled to discover what was going on. But the clues were few and their time limited – could they find the culprit before more passengers lost their lives?
  
  Murder on the Orient (SS) by Aussie author C.A. Larmer is the second in the Agatha Christie Book Club series and a thoroughly entertaining cosy mystery. I’ve enjoyed all this author’s work, and look forward to the third in this series; I also have no hesitation in recommending Murder on the Orient (SS) highly.
  
• 
  Carolyn

  Dr Anders, a member of the newly formed Agatha Christie Book Club has taken on a job as ship's doctor for the Fremantle-Aukland part of a world cruise on the SS Orient, a glamorous replica of the grand ship that once sailed from London to Australia. When he finds out there will be some budget cabins available for the Sydney-Aukland leg he suggests the other five members of the book club join him for the five day cruise. The trip however is not as relaxing as they expected. On the second day of the trip, a women is found dead in her cabin and Dr Anders has his hands full dealing with her death. Then the following night, in the early hours of the morning the captain's wife falls overboard. She wasn't drunk so was she pushed? When a third woman is found murdered, the Book Club decides they need to investigate to find the culprit or culprits and prevent any more deaths.
  
  Apart from the clever title, this has some of the elements of a good Agatha Christie whodunnit. The isolated and contained location, plenty of clues and people behaving badly to each other. Alice and Anders are the main detectives in this mystery with the other members not as involved as they could have been, which was a shame as I really liked the way they interacted as a team in the first book.
  
  
• 
  recontraluchita

  me pareció que le dieron poco protagonismo a los demás del club, como que mucho no aportaron en la investigación
  
• 
  Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review)

  Dr Anders has been asked to fill in as the on board Doctor on the SS Orient (a replica of a ship that used to sail between England and Australia), quite a few passengers are leaving the ship in Australia (even though it is going on to New Zealand) and so the other members of the Agatha Christie Book Club have a chance to live the high life for four or five days, and that is the high life on a lemonade budget! They jump at the chance, but shortly after they arrive there is a death, then someone goes overboard, and then another death! The first could be natural causes, the other two not so much, especially number three as it is very hard to stab yourself in the back!
  
  Now the team needs to re-don their sleuthing suits and find out who could kill in this rather large locked room scenario.
• 
  Kelley

  Novel received courtesy of Goodreads.com First Reads Giveaways
  
  This was a novel about a book club that reads and discusses Agatha Christie mysteries. The club gets invited by one of its members to enjoy a cruise from Australia to New Zealand and, of course, murder and thievery ensue.
• 
  Estíbaliz Montero Iniesta

  Pues me ha gustado más que el primero, que estuvo bien pero era un tanto predecible. Alicia como prota no me flipa, aunque Anders es el peor, pero adoro al resto del club. También me ha gustado mucho la ambientación del crucero (disfruto mucho de los misterios en hoteles y, al final, un crucero es una especie de hotel flotante).
• 
  N.N. Heaven

  This was a pretty good mystery with fun characters. I liked the Agatha Christie Book Club members immensely. The plot is fairly easy to follow without much deducting needed to figure it out.
  
  My Rating: 4 stars
• 
  Madeline

  I was upset by the fact that she gives away the ending of the classic, The Orient Express. There should be some spoiler alert in books that do that. I personally have read the book, but it is still a pet peeve of mine.
  
  The plot was simple and sophomoric. I am not interested in reading any of the other books in this series.
• 
  Em’

  4,5 - Résumé : Lorsque l'un des membres du club des amateurs de romans policiers est embauché comme médecin pour une croisière de luxe, c'est l'occasion rêvée pour nos détectives amateurs fans d'Agatha Christie de prendre des vacances. Mais les vacances seront de courte durée lorsqu'un passager est retrouvé mort et qu'un autre passe par dessus bord. Heureusement que notre petite bande est présente pour mener l'enquête!
  
  Avis : Friande de cosy mystery, j'avais adoré le premier tome "Ils étaient sept" qui avait été une très très chouette surprise et avec mes deux deux copines de LC nous étions tellement contentes de nous replonger dans cette saga. Et on a pas été déçues! J'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé ce deuxième tome qui réunit encore humour, enquête, surprises, retournements de situations et personnages attachants!
  
  Attention cependant: Ce roman (bien que la fin en soit différente) spoile l'issue du Crime de l'Orient Express donc si vous souhaitez le découvrir je vous conseille de le lire avant! Aussi (et je pinaille), j'ai trouvé Anders horrible avec Alicia et il m'a manqué l'esprit de groupe du premier tome où tout le monde était exploité alors que dans ce tome on est quand même focus sur Alicia.
  
  Mais ce sont vraiment des remarques minimes car j'ai passé un excellent moment de lecture, les indices étaient là mais pourtant je n'ai rien vu venir!
  Cette saga est un petit bonbon et je vous la recommande chaudement; l'attente pour le tome 3 va être terrible!
  
  En résumé: Encore une très belle lecture en LC avec mes copines d'amour @maudandhersweetbooks et @l.livresonavis! Un grand merci à la maison d'édition et vivement Avril pour le tome 3!
• 
  Linda Romer

  Murder On The Orient (SS) The Agatha Christie Book Club 2 By C.A. Larmer
  
  I loved this book. A great crime mystery. This is the second book in The Agatha Christie Book Club by C.A. Larmer.
  This story is about a murder mystery that takes place on the SS Orient Steamship. A replica that once sailed between London and the colonies. The ship is beautiful, vintage 1901. I could almost picture it with all the lovely details.
  Dr. Anders Bright, a member of the book club was asked to step in as a replacement doctor on the ship. He asked the rest of the book club to join him for the four day cruise across the Tasman to New Zealand. Once aboard they meet a lively cast of characters including the Captain and his wife. Veteran cruisers, the Solarno sister, Dermott Killarney, Anita, Dame Dinnegen and Cheyne.
  Right from the start we get into the murder mystery and our main female character Alicia Finlay book club member swings into her sleuth mode. You will love this mystery with all its twists and turns and how Alicia and the rest of the book club figure out the whodunit. I couldn't figure it out and was shocked by the ending.
  
  I give Murder on the Orient (SS) 5 stars for it's interesting crime mystery and lively characters.
  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crime fiction.
  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Charlocked (Bookish-Charlie)

  Will I ever go on a cruise again after reading this? Yes, of course !
  
  That being said, it was a nice cosy mystery. It was a bit slow at times but still, you're hooked to do the investigation with the Agatha Christie Club members. The gallery of eccentric characters is worthy of Christie herself : the amateur detectives, the young man and his old lady wife, the gigolo, the suspicious bartender, the three old rich sisters always on holidays...
  
  I don't know if it was intentional or not, but some leads are abandoned, leading nowhere, without any explanation (you can only assume) or some people change their stories or express themselves with a new element even though they have heard the story like three times ! Like... why didn't you say so before ?! I guess it shows that the human brain isn't very reliable at times of stress or that the truth isn't as simple to get as Agatha Christie exposed it in her books.
  
  It was delightful and I can't wait to dive into Book 3!
  
  
• 
  Judy

  I think I prefered the first book in this series to this, the second one. But it was still a fun mystery with plenty of action by the amateur sleuths in a charming setting. The cruise on the new SS Orient (a fictitious cruise ship which is an homage to the Orient Express) was a great backdrop for the murders which were reminiscent of the gilded age of mysteries with guests in a limited setting. If you like a light mystery with plenty of interesting characters you might take a look at this series.
• 
  Niki

  it was nice to get the ACBC back on the scent of crime - 2 plots (one I more or less uncovered), unfortunately the writing is average, it's like watching a tv series, nevertheless it was a quick read and a relaxing one - one thing is sure i will never ever be going on a cruise ship
• 
  Anastasia

  Murder on the Orient (SS) by C.A. Larmer is the 2nd book in the Agatha Christie Book Club series. The Agatha Christie Book Club members take the opportunity to take a short luxury cruise aboard the SS Orient replica, but when passengers start dying, they find themselves investigating using Hercule Poirot as inspiration. I enjoyed this book very much and I loved all the comparisons and references to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. It was nice to catch up with the book club members although Alicia seemed to take over most of the investigation. A very enjoyable cozy mystery, particularly for Agatha Christie fans.
• 
  Librosdegloria

  Siguiendo con las vibes del primer libro y sin hacer spoiler:
  
  👉Es una historia MUY SENCILLA, divertida e interesante con capítulos cortos y acción desde el inicio.
  
  👉A pesar de ser un cozy crime, mantiene bastante bien el misterio en la trama y el juego del Cluedo en el que se ven envueltos los personajes, esta vez en un crucero con varias muertes sospechosas.
  
  👉Me gusta la forma de escribir de la autora. Una trama ligera y un misterio consistente con unos personajes peculiares y con habilidades dadas por su obsesión al misterio que saben más que la policía) 😂
  
  👉Sinceramente no es nada del otro mundo, aunque me me lo he pasado pipa leyéndolo y ha tenido algunas cositas que me han sorprendido.
  
  👉Aun así, a veces me ha gustado mucho y otras creo que flojea, quizás por el hecho de que los personajes (que forman el club de lectura de adictos a Agatha Christie y al crimen) están como más desvinculados los unos de los otros (si lo comparamos el primer libro que estaban todos estaban a una).
  
  👉Me quedo con el primero, pero el club de lectura de adictos al crimen ya son como una familia y es una buena lectura para desconectar con el buen tiempo 💛
  
  
  3,9/5⭐️
  
• 
  Lisa

  Un deuxième tome aussi bien que le premier ! Jusqu'au bout je n'ai pas su résoudre le mystère et ce que je recherche dans un bon policier : être surprise et happée par l'histoire du début jusqu'à la fin !
• 
  Mathilde Lbh

  J'ai adoré retrouver les membres du club des amateurs de romans policiers dans ce second tome. Toujours sur fond d'une passion pour les romans d'Agatha Christie on va embarquer au côté de la fine équipe pour une croisière mémorable.
  
  Alors qu'Anders va avoir une mission de médecin à bord du SS Orient. Il va faire profiter ses amis de la croisière à un prix hyper attractif. Ils se réjouissent tous de ces quelques jours entre l'Australie et la Nouvelle Zélande. Oui mais c'est sans compter sur le meurtre d'une femme qui a été passée par dessus bord. Alicia et ses amis vont alors se mettre en action pour résoudre ce mystère. Sont-ils prêt à découvrir ce qui se cache à bord de ce bateau de croisière ?
  
  J'ai adoré ce tome, l'ambiance du huis clos est hyper addictive. Nos amateurs de romans policiers sont toujours aussi complémentaires et forment une belle équipe d'enquêteurs. Dans ce tome il y a vraiment du rythme, on n'a pas le temps de s'ennuyer. Les péripéties se succèdent, aucun temps mort.
  
  Si vous aimez les romans d'Agatha Christie foncez lire cette saga vous ne serez pas déçu ! Il y a d'ailleurs de nombreuses références à son œuvre dans ce tome.
• 
  Mark

  Entertaining yarn and I'd read more if they are written.
  I did find it irritating the way she referred to the character who was a Dame as Dame Dilligan i.e. her honorific and surname. She even referred to Agatha Christie as Dame Christie. It's Dame Agatha Christie or Dame Agatha, but certainly not Dame Christie and it's the same for any Dame honoured by the Queen, fictional or otherwise!!
• 
  Christine

  Second volume in the Agatha Christie Book Club series and just as enjoyable as the first. Only just realised a third volume has been released (
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...) so looks as if these titles may become a New Year tradition for me :)
• 
  Jane Firebaugh

  Great new book by super talented author C.A. Larmer. Wonderful cruise ship murder mystery in her Agatha Christie Book Club series. Her books just keep getting better and better!
• 
  Alice

  Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec Le Crime du SS Orient ?
  "J'avais vraiment bien aimé le premier, malgré quelques réserves, et avec cette jolie couverture, j'avais hâte de me plonger à nouveau dans les aventures du club des amateurs de romans policiers."
  
  Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
  "Anders est engagé pour quelques jours en tant que médecin sur un bateau qui offre des croisières de luxe et propose aux autres membres du club de lecture de le rejoindre. Mais alors qu'ils pensaient tous se détendre, un meurtre est commis..."
  
  Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
  "Dès les premières pages, je me suis dit que ce n'était quand même pas très bon, pour une multitude de raisons... Et malheureusement, plus je tournais les pages, plus mon avis se confirmait. Pour commencer, un point de l'intrigue que l'on attendait a été réglé en l'absence du lecteur, grosse frustration donc ! L'enquête, n'est pas bien difficile à dénouer non plus. C'était déjà le cas dans le précédent mais avec des personnages attachants et des arcs secondaires interessants, ça ne me gêne pas forcément. Mais ici, si les membres du club de lecture sont toujours bien présents, ils ne se réunissent plus pour parler livres ou Agatha Christie alors que c'était quand même l'atout principal de cette série !! Ajoutez à cela que deux des personnages sont à claquer, et que l'héroïne elle-même manque vraiment d'épaisseur et je me demande s'il est encore utile de vous dire que l'écriture n'est pas non plus le point fort du roman."
  
  Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
  "La fin spoile toute l'intrigue du Crime de l'Orient-Express d'Agatha Christie. Un, vous ne serez averti qu'au début du dernier chapitre et donc, à moins de faire l'impasse sur le dénouement du roman que vous venez de lire, impossible de ne pas se faire spoiler. Je ne trouve pas ça correct du tout. Deux, ça n'a absolument aucun intérêt, vraiment, aucun rapport avec le schmilblick. À moins que l'autrice compare son intrigue à celle de la Reine du Crime ? Et alors là, ce serait vraiment risible."
  
  
  
  http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...
• 
  Lisa Millett

  A great who done it
  
  This is the second book in the Agatha Christie Book Club series and it is another winner. Alicia, her sister Lynette, Dr. Anders and the whole book club crew end up taking a short voyage on the S.S. Orient ship which is modeled after an old ship from the same time frame as the Orient Express Train from Agatha Christie 's famous book. It starts out with Dr. Anders getting a short term job as the ship's physician and he invited Alicia his new girlfriend and the whole book club to join him. Alicia foresees a lot of romantic fun with the doctor which ends up being so far from the truth. Instead the doctor seems to be avoiding her and acting strangely. Then an elderly woman dies in the cruise and the book club members suspect foul play. They meet a lot of different people on the ship including the captain's amazonian, sexy wife, a group of rich sisters referred to as the Salami Sisters, an elderly woman who is wheelchair bound with a very young flirtatious husband and several strange crew members. Then the captain's wife ends up falling or being thrown overboard in the middle of the night causing the ship to backtrack and search for her. Now the book club members really start to investigate to figure out what is going on. Alicia confronts Dr. Anders about the deaths and she discovers that he hasn't been honest with her about why he was hired for the cruise. On top of the strange deaths, there is also an apparent jewellery thief on board. Dr Anders is working with an undercover detective to catch the thief. Will the thief be caught? Will the book club members solve the deaths? This book is filled with intricate plots and keeps you turning the pages to the exciting conclusion. It would have been an excellent case for Hercule Poirot. I highly recommend this book to those readers who love Agatha Christie books.
• 
  Angelic Sword

  😢 Petite déception
  En trois mots : cosy - meurtre - croisière
  
  « Le SS Orient, les enfants ! C’est un signe que nous envoie Dame Christie elle-même ! »
  
  ➡️ Si le premier tome avait été une bonne surprise, très axé Agatha Christie, le second l’a été beaucoup moins…
  
  ➡️ L’aspect club de lecture n’est malheureusement plus très présent. Même si nos amateurs de romans policiers sont ensemble dans cette galère, tout se concentre sur Alicia pour qui je n’ai ressenti aucun attachement, de même pour sa romance.
  
  « Elle réalisait avec déception qu’ils avaient embarqué sur la réplique d’un bateau de croisière historique, et non sur le Love Boat de La croisière s’amuse. »
  
  Les personnages manquent un peu de profondeur, ce n’est pas parce qu’il s’agit d’un cosy mystery qu’ils ne doivent pas être un minimum développés.
  
  ➡️ Le huis clos sur ce bateau est tout de même plutôt bien réalisé, assez classique mais efficace. La résolution, si elle ne m’a pas transcendé, n’a pas été décevante.
  
  ⚠️ Attention ce livre révèle l’intrigue et la fin du Crime de l’Orient Express, même si ce livre est un classique, l’avertissement aurait pu être placé au début du livre et non pas simplement au début du chapitre concerné.
  
  Petite déception pour cette suite, je m’arrêterai peut-être là pour cette saga même s’il est vrai qu’elle se lit facilement.
• 
  Alan

  an entertaining read i thought, trying to do a modern take on the agatha christie holiday journey murder mystery. in this case a 4 day cruise from australia to new zealand.
  and although i enjoyed the members of the book club and their inter-actions there were really too many 'voices' involved in the detection side of the story. the novel wasn't a fair play book and a couple of the clues came out of nowhere i felt.
  i did guess part of the solution/s but only because of memories of other books, whilst the second solution (which was portrayed as the primary crime being investigated) i did wonder about but did not solve, despite the result being a well known mis-direction involving time.
  the potential romance between the doctor and the lead book club member was okay, but considering why the doctor was on board what on earth possessed him to invite the book club to join the cruise for the final 4 days ! with the introduction of the police officer i hope the author does not go down the tried-tested-obvious route of romantic triangle in the next book.
  the 3rd novel is available and i will certainly pick it up when i get the chance.