A great read, all about leaving constraint behind you and opening your mind long enough for things to happen. Also Flaming Rum Monkeys. And very catchy music. And shipboard romance! And physics!! I reread it every couple of years and anybody who is an author should read it just for the fun of pen names come alive. ( )

Shy redhead Susan and her quirky best friend Pat win a trip aboard a cruise ship. She meets a cute sailor and her favorite author--but then! A mysterious murder! Oh my! I gave up about 30 pages in. The writing was just too excrutiatingly clunky to read. Here is the ending of the first chapter:
"It was shaping up to be an interesting cruise, he thought happily. He was looking forward to meeting Max Merriwell; he was looking forward to seeing what, if anything, developed between Tom and the redhead. And the ship was heading into the Bermuda Triangle.
For the past few weeks, Ian had been reading up on the Bermuda Triangle. He didn't believe all the stories about ships and planes that had disappeared there, but he was interested in them, just as he was interested in anything that smacked of conspiracy and cover-up. He didn't believe in the mystical power of the Bermuda Triangle, but he enjoyed the fervor of those who did. He tried to keep an open mind.
Yes, he thought, it was bound to be an interesting cruise."

Ye gods! ( )

I thought this started off horribly but then something peaked my interest so I stuck with it. It really didn't pay off for me. Not enough happened, it was too normal for me, seemed kind of dated and the romance angle was nor my thing. Still there were some cool ideas and it was pretty original so that puts it at about 2 stars. ( )

I'd never heard of this author before, but now I'm hoping to read more of her books. This book was fun to read and the author certainly didn't take it too seriously, which made it silly in parts, but good overall. ( )

( )