Sandy’s Cruising Toward Another Murder
While the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mysteries were on my radar for a while, I finally gave the first one a try last year, and I enjoyed it. It’s been a delight revisiting him, and The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper, the third, was another enjoyable book.
As the series title implies, Sandy was big in the 1970’s, when he had a singing career as well as a TV show where he played a teenage detective. But now, it’s 1993, and Sandy’s career has faltered, in part due to his lifestyle. But newly sober, he’s trying to rebuild his life, taking any job his agent can book for him.
Which is how Sandy finds himself on a cruise ship. He’s joined by his sister and a band, and his job is to provide two shows a night on a week-long Caribbean cruise. It should be easy enough, right? Complicating things is the dead body that Sandy finds in his dressing room the first night of the cruise. The victim was part of another show on board the ship. Sandy doesn’t feel like the cruise ship’s security is taking the murder seriously, especially if they consider him a suspect. Can he figure out what really happened before the cruise ends?
The book gets off to a bit of a slow start, giving us more of the set up than we really needed. Yes, some interesting subplots are introduced here, especially for Sandy’s sister, who is blind and had a very small singing career of her own. It was still entertaining to read, but I do wish it were a little faster to get going.
But once Sandy finds the victim, the plot picks up. There were plenty of great twists and turns to the story, and I was kept guessing until near the end. Yes, I did figure things out a little before we were supposed to, but not by much. And I’m not complaining, either, especially since I only knew the big picture. Naturally, I found the ending logical, and I appreciated how all the details were wrapped up.
Since Sandy is rarely in one place for long, going wherever he can get a job, we are slowly getting to know about his world. That’s definitely the case here since this is the first time we get to see him interact with his sister. I really liked that relationship, and I appreciated how her blindness was used in the story and what it showed us about both of them.
Yes, Sandy is continuing to develop as a character, and I enjoyed seeing that again here. We get a couple of supporting players who show up on the ship, one of whom is a bit of a surprise. Not that I’m complaining. The suspects were good as well.
I mentioned earlier that these books are set in 1993. Unfortunately, the author drops in a pop culture reference for something that came later in the decade. It’s just one line, but it did throw me. Still, that’s a minor complaint.
Spending time with Sandy continues to be fun. I’m glad there are several more books for me to read. I can’t wait to see how else he finds murder on the comeback trail. If you are looking for a fun cozy, you’ll be glad you picked up The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper.
Check out the rest of the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mysteries.
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