MRC Recommends: Shadow of the Queen by Scott Finley

MRC RECOMMENDS: Shadow of the Queen by Scott Finley

“..entertaining read with more than a few delicious surprises…”
—Mystery Review Crew

Shadow of the Queen

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Review of Shadow of the Queen by Scott Finley

The Shadow of the Queen is a wonderful cozy mystery with two main characters who are more than capable of sustaining a series set on the high seas.

Maeve Chandler, the ship’s nurse, and Dr. Harper, the new primary physician, are relatable and well-developed characters. She immediately came alive for me, maybe because I’m a bit of a klutz myself. Her propensity for bumping into things is never overplayed and adds touches of humor in just the right spots.

The year is 1929, and Dr. Harper had served on the Queens Royal Navy before accepting the position on the Queen Victoria. As we, and Maeve, get to know him better, he comes across as a kind man who certainly does know his way around a ship hospital. His experience in the war hints at something troubling him, but he is guarded about that.

On the other hand, there is more than a hint of romance budding between the duo that I look forward to seeing blossom in future books, along with more of Dr. Harper’s backstory. 

The first night out, a man falls dead at a table in First Class Dining. Turns out he was poisoned. Then another passenger commits suicide. Another man is murdered, then another. The bodies are piling up faster than the dirty dishes in the galley, well, except for the man who went overboard. 

With the help of Agatha Christie, who’s traveling incognito as Mrs. Templeton, and Harvey, Maeve, and Dr. Harper work tirelessly to sort out the “who” and “why” before anyone else keels over. The chief steward, Mr. Harvey, would rather not have any more caskets in his refrigeration holds, thank you very much.

The author skillfully weaves in his extensive knowledge of luxury liners and how the personnel and equipment work together. Knowing those details makes it easy to picture settings as the characters moved about in their sleuthing, and the vivid descriptions keep those sections from veering off into becoming a manual of how to maintain a large sea-going vessel

I thoroughly enjoyed The Shadow of the Queen and look forward to the next book in the series. Would it be too much to have a repeat appearance by Dame Christie? Oh, what a delight that would be for this reader and many more who grew up on those early cozies.

A highly recommended, entertaining read with more than a few delicious surprises that weren’t on the dinner menu.

About Scott Finley

Scott’s fascination with the golden age of luxury liners began in sixth grade with Walter Lord’s Titanic classic A Night to Remember and continued through a career as a multiple award winning and Lone Star Emmy nominated television news producer.

Scott believes that the devil truly is in the details and strives for as much accuracy as possible (with the occasional artistic license thrown in) for the series, including news and events of the day as well as clothing, popular slang, technology, and other items.

When not writing he enjoys electric trains and restoring radios from the 1930’s through 1950’s.