Somewhere By the Sea - guest blog post by Gianetta Murray

Today I'm pleased to host a guest post by my fellow crime writer Gianetta Murray, who shares my enthusiasm for cruises!

'For luxury, excitement, and a chance to see the world, there isn’t much that beats a cruise ship.

It’s also an ideal place for murder.

Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Kerry Greenwood, and countless others have set mysteries on ships, and with good reason. The surroundings tend to be luxurious, allowing your readers to live vicariously. The suspects can’t leave (except by being murdered), so there’s plenty of time to interview them. And even in this day and age, the WiFi is often dodgy, presenting your sleuth with communication challenges when time is of the essence.

Your average mystery author is also spoiled for choice when it comes to murder method. Fancy drowning someone in the swimming pool? Poisoned drinks? Electrocuted in the gym? Or maybe an “accident” while trap shooting? All available, plus any of the classics. There’s no official police presence, and your killer has a large ‘body’ of water in which to hide the evidence!

If all that wasn’t enough, cruises usually have dining arrangements that throw random people together. We all know when strangers meet, eventually someone’s going to want to kill someone else, right? (Maybe because they’re not actually strangers?) They are forced into close proximity over Lobster Thermidor, and by the time the crème brulee is served no one is safe.

With such a glorious midnight buffet of plot and character possibilities presented by a cruise ship setting, it’s no surprise bestselling writers Tom Hindle and Ruth Ware also recently indulged.  Frankly, it’s a wonder any writer can resist.

I certainly couldn’t. My Vivien Brandt Mystery series mostly takes place in a small Yorkshire village, but by book three I craved some high-seas glamour and wrote Shipped to Slaughter, in which expat Vivien’s American and British families gather for the first time on an Alaska cruise to celebrate her milestone birthday.

Throw in a chance meeting (or is it?) with someone from Vivien’s past, a robbery, and some suspiciously dodgy passengers in addition to murder and I was one happy author.

So yes, cruise ships are a great place to set a murder mystery. I just have to figure out how to top it, now that Vivien’s on a train home. Because nothing exciting ever happens on a train…

What’s your favourite setting for murder and why? Reply with your answer (to gianettamurray@gmail.com) and I’ll pick a favorite to win an e-book of Shipped to Slaughter.

Thanks to Martin for letting me guest on his blog!'