Kathryn Fox

Cold Grave

Macmillan

Pan Macmillian Aust Pty Ltd

ISBN: 9781742610344

Description:

It feels like the safest place on earth. A family-friendly, floating palace. But, as Anya Crichton soon discovers, cruise ships aren’t all that they seem…Statistics tell us that a woman is twice as likely to be sexually assaulted on a cruise ship than on dry land. Customers aren’t screened, so the ships are a haven for sex offenders and paedophiles. With no policing, and floating in international waters, sexual assaults and passengers ‘disappearing’ are uncommonly frequent…So when a teenage girl is discovered, dead on the deck of the ship that she is holidaying on, Anya feels compelled to get involved. There’s no apparent cause of death, but Anya’s forensics expertise uncovers more than the ship’s doctors can…or want to. With the killer still on board, and subsequently a crew-member found shot, it becomes clear that the safe haven of the cruise-ship is actually anything but. And, as Anya comes under increasing pressure to abandon her investigations, will she continue? Or do whatever it takes to keep her own family safe?

My View:

I have read the entire Dr Anya Crichton series and feel that this is perhaps the weakest. Whilst the main characters are likable and a known entity that I feel comfortable with, the narrative for me felt a little preachy – and I think this spoilt rather than enhanced the story. I felt we were lectured on a range of issues including but not limited to exploitation of labourers from third world countries, cruise ship ecological damage/pollution, excesses of wealth – in the form of over indulgence in food, alcohol, use of drugs, gambling, and overt the top discretionary spending. Then we explore the issue of recreational drug use, and date rape.   I think the lectures were a little heavy handed; the messages could have been delivered in a more subtle manner that did not detract from the narrative. There was little tension in the narrative, maybe because of the emphasis on “lessons”. All in all an average read, suitable for a light holiday indulgence for the fans of this author. I wish I could have liked this more.