As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.
Fresh off her role in solving murders in her adopted town of Berry Springs (told in Death in the Ozarks), Sally Witherspoon decides she needs a break. She plans a relaxing but informative cruise down the Mississippi, with stops that highlight historical events such as the Trail of Tears or stories of slavery. The boat is small and she soon gets to know her fellow passengers as well as the crew serving them. They’re an international lot, from places like Australia, China, Canada, Israel, South Africa, Germany and Ghana. So when one is murdered, Sally involves herself immediately. After all, she likes solving murders–she just wishes no one had to die.
At first though, the murder doesn’t make sense. After all, the passengers and crew have only known each other three days. Sally soon realizes that the motive must lie in the past. And so she’s out asking questions, spending time with people, taking notes, and ingratiating herself as much as possible with first the local police, and then the FBI. She spends time with a social media influencer who’s always laughing, annoyingly, and with an Australian doctor who seems the only one truly mourning the death–and that was because she wasn’t able to save him. There’s the diplomatic couple who seem to be always arguing–he from China, ready to take up a new posting in DC, and his South African wife who is mourning her career change. The captain of the cruise is German, with an accent that seems sometimes stronger than at other times. The server is Ghanian and the maid from Ireland. I found it intriguing that such an international group would gather to study the darker side of American history, but it turns out only some of them were really interested in it. When another body turns up, Sally realizes time is running out.
Murder on the Mississippi wasn’t as good as the first book in the series, in my opinion. It was clunkier, and I got frustrated at Sally a few times. However, she’s still a fun main character; she’s very relatable, for a start, and you feel that she’s someone you’d enjoy getting a drink with. She also is good at putting pieces together. A delightful cozy mystery to read on a beach or at a park this summer!
Author Bio:
Erik S. Meyers has been an American abroad for years and years, and has lived or worked in six countries on three continents, the longest in Germany. He is currently in Austria. He is an award-winning author and communications professional with over twenty-five years of expertise in a variety of corporate roles. Reading and writing are his passions, when he is not hiking one of the amazing trails in Austria or elsewhere.
I am glad you did end up liking it in the end.