The story starts with crime fiction author Francis Meadowes enjoying a free cruise along the west African coast on an upscale ship. He's a "guest lecturer" onboard the cruise, speaking to other passengers about writing crime fiction. In exchange for delivering the lecture, he travels for free.
Before long however he is investigating a couple of suspicious deaths aboard the ship, one of them being a "man overboard" (who is actually a woman). Under the auspices of the ship's captain, Francis undertakes an investigation. Then one of the crew dies onboard from a snake bite, raising the death toll to three. His investigation comes to a dramatic conclusion on a small island off the coast of the African nation of Guinea-Bissau.
It's an edgy story, perhaps being too gritty to be a true cozy mystery. There is the closed environment of the ship at sea with a defined set of suspects: an eclectic assortment of cruise passengers on a high-end cruise. The story includes plenty of background about cruise ships (for example the procedures to follow when someone falls overboard) and how crime is reported and investigated when a ship is in international waters. The social experience of cruising is captured well, the interaction amongst a group of strangers randomly brought together on a ship is on full display. Anyone who has been on a cruise will recognize the group scenes onboard and on the off-ship expeditions.
There's some social commentary too. The contrast between the crew quarters and the passenger areas is a topic, as is the intersection between first world passengers and third world people and places they visit.
Francis is an attractive protagonist and does a good job of narrating the story. He makes a good amateur detective.
It's a entertaining and intelligent read: recommended.

Thanks to Severn House Publishers and Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy of the book. The views expressed above are mine. ( )