cover image MURDER ON THE CARONIA: A Mystery Featuring George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield

MURDER ON THE CARONIA: A Mystery Featuring George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield

Conrad Allen, . . St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95 (336pp) ISBN 978-0-312-28091-8

The Cunard Line's sleuthing team of George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, posing as first-class passengers on the Caronia, try to help a naïve young Boston woman en route to England in search of a titled husband. This latest entry in the light Edwardian series from the pseudonymous Allen (Murder on the Lusitania, etc.) features a pair of lovers suspected of murdering the man's wife who are being escorted by Scotland Yard officers for trial in England. An overly swift climax, too much irrelevant (and at times anachronistic) dialogue and a minimal sense of the importance of social class in this period will jar some readers. Established fans, though, will relish the usual gaudy cast of characters and the intriguing ambiguity of the two detectives' relationship. (Jan. 10)