Birch is an intriguing character. He's reeling from a recent family trauma, the details of which emerge over the course of the narrative, and his resulting taciturn introversion ostracises him from the majority of his fellow officers and crewmen aboard Endeavour. Nevertheless, he makes an intuitive and increasingly engaged associate for the acerbic Temple as together they view the body, search a cabin and interview several passengers who may have known the victim. Some guarantee admission to study programs, even for those without the English-proficiency test that is normally required. As a furious squall swept down Lake Michigan on June 23, 1950, a DC-4 with 58 souls on board flew from New York toward Minnesota. Minutes after midnight Captain Robert Lind requested a lower altitude as he began crossing the lake, but Air Traffic Control could not comply. That was the last communication with Northwest Airlines Flight 2501. Century is publishing A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle, adebutbilled as a "smart, twisting, Golden Age-style crime novel"set aboard a cruise liner.

Thanks for the review, and I confess I’m trying to discern if this might be my cup of tea. The premise and the GA tropes suggest it would be, but the novel as a whole sounds more hard-boiled and modern in tone than I’d prefer. 🤔 Also, the following comment makes me wonder if the resolution veers away from the prior commitment to the mystery as puzzle: “ unfortunately when we do reach the concluding chapters of the novel, the plot sharply goes in another direction.” Would that be a fair inference? 🧐 With twist after gut-punching twist, A Fatal Crossing really is an ingenious thriller. Highly recommend' M. W. Craven

Right at the start of this wonderful novel we’re faced with a murder on a cruise ship, and ship officer Timothy Birch chalks it up as a tragic accident, but James Temple, a Scotland Yard detective that’s onboard the ship, doesn’t think it’s an accident at all. He pushes the ship’s Captain to conduct an investigation into the death so sooner Timothy and James are partnered up to find out exactly what has happened. My favourite westward Atlantic crossing detective novel is Peter Lovesey's The Fake Inspector Dew (1981), but A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle is a first-rate addition to the corpus [...] A very good debut novel' The Critic Read more Look Inside Details With just days remaining until they reach New York, and even Temple's purpose on board the Endeavour proving increasingly suspicious, Birch's search for the culprit is fraught with danger.

I'm not going to lie, this book really was a slog to read, I found it too long and also the plot just didn't flow right. I wish Clive Cussler, in addition to funding the searches, had thrown some connections her way for a good editor and proofreader. They were migrants from India: listless, disoriented and determined to reach the United States along one of its most desolate frontiers. They had been trudging through knee- to waist-deep snow for 11 hours in whiteout conditions, and two had to be rushed to a hospital. A book set in my era. In my location. On my transport. An Agatha Christie like plot. A myriad of interesting characters and plot twists. The plot is intriguing, and this is probably the best part of the book. Hindle restricts the story to a manageable number of people with an ingenious device of a stolen picture – which can only be a motive to a tiny number of people because the painting’s very existence is largely unknown – and indeed, is on the Endeavour en route to an art fair in new York where its production will astonish the world.While most of A Fatal Crossing conforms with a traditional "whodunnit" mystery format in the traditional style, the dramatic ending comprises a shift into thriller territory, with a great twist that I certainly didn't see coming! I really enjoyed this debut whodunit from Tom Hindle. I'm a fan of the genre, and this one had suspects a-plenty, lots of twists and intrigue and a clever wrap-up. November 1924. The Endeavour sets sail to New York with 2,000 passengers - and a killer - on board. Still mad that I spent actual time reading this. On holiday, no less. Less cosy crime, more lazy crime. No fun, too confusing to follow, and a twist at the end which makes no sense and isn’t even interesting, let alone satisfying. I really wanted to enjoy this book. I love Agatha Christie so a murder mystery set in the 1920’s sounded right up my street. Unfortunately I didn’t find myself particularly engaged in the story, or really caring about the outcome.

The action unfolds at a rip-roaring pace in this perfectly executed homage to the Golden Age of crime, which features a deviously devised plot boasting a final twist worthy of Christie herself. I absolutely loved it' Anita Frank It would have been illuminating to hear more about her research methods and tactics, vis a vis archival research. It’s obvious she knows this story inside and out. It’s November 1924, when the ship Endeavour sets sail from Southampton for New York, with a total of 2000 passengers and crew.An autopsy determined they had died from exposure to the cold, an outcome that appeared predetermined as soon as they lost their way. A Fatal Crossing is a mystery set over a few days in 1924. The action takes place on the Endeavour - a ship travelling from Southampton to New York. Timothy Birch, an officer on The Endeavour, carries a great burden with him. His daughter Amelia has been missing for two years, and he feels responsible, as he was away at sea at the time. His wife Kate had pleaded with him not to go, worrying that should something happen, she wouldn’t have anyone to turn to, and then of course it did. Kate has since left him, and he’s completely distraught. Staying motivated could also be tough, especially while trying to fit in my writing around a busy day-job. I’m someone who thrives on the routine, so I carved out time during the week for writing, which I clung to rigidly. I’d write on Monday and Wednesday evenings, when my girlfriend went to a gym class and I’d have the flat to myself, and then for a couple of hours first-thing on Saturday and Sunday morning. Without that schedule, I’m not convinced I would ever have completed a full draft. It gave me something I could use to hold myself to account, on the days I wasn’t feeling it.