Terns of endearment

This book is number 25 in the Meg Langslow series of books by Donna Andrews. Meg's grandfather has been hired to give a series of natural history talks on the Pastime cruise ship, Wanderer. As family and friends can travel at a reduced rate, a contingent of Meg's family decide to go on the cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda and return. However it does not take long for Meg and her father to realise that this cruise will not be smooth sailing.

Meg meets and becomes friends with a group of writers who each year get together to discuss their work and encourage each other in their endeavours. There is also another author, Desiree St Christophe, aboard the ship who appears to have a grudge with Meg's new friends. During the first night of the trip the ship stops and next morning it appears that Desiree has fallen / or jumped from the ship leaving behind her shoes, a shawl and a suicide note. The chief officers on the ship are reluctant to investigate.

The passengers are not told why the ship has stopped except that it should be fixed soon. In the meantime there is no power, no water, little food and no way to contact the shore for assistance. Most of the crew have disappeared. Meg and her family, with the aid of other passengers, take over the running of the ship to try to make conditions bearable until help arrives. Meanwhile Meg and her father discover a body in a cupboard. What is going on aboard this ship?

Another Donna Andrews cosy crime mystery with a cast of slightly eccentric characters who work together to relieve the discomfort of their fellow passengers and also solve the mystery of why they have been stranded at sea.