Finally, special thanks to Alex for pretending not to mind while digging a trench in the rain or chopping wood or whatever while I ‘get on with my book’, as well as the unending support and belief in me, of course.

Keep Reading …

Discover Catherine Cooper’s next gripping glamorous thriller, The Cruise

A glamorous ship

During a New Year’s Eve party on a large cruise ship in the Caribbean, the ship’s dancer, Lola, disappears.

A mysterious cast of passengers

The ship is searched, and the coastguard is called, but there is no sign of her, either dead or alive. Lola was popular on the ship but secretive about her background, and as the mystery around her deepens, everyone on board becomes a suspect.

And a party that goes horribly wrong …

Who was Lola arguing with the night she vanished? Why did she come aboard the cruise in the first place? What was she running from?

Order your copy now

Keep reading for a sneak peek into THE CRUISE

Michael has never been anywhere as grand as this before. He hangs the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the handle, closes the door of his stateroom and takes it all in.

The bed is enormous. The towel placed on top has been crafted into the shape of a swan. He touches its beak. Clever. The bed linen is crisp white with the discreet blue-and-gold logo of the cruise company, Heracles, on each of the pillows.

There is a basket of fruit on a small table by a gold velvet armchair. Not apples and oranges and everyday pieces like that, but mango, kiwi, papaya and a bright pink fruit which has already been cut in half to expose a strange black and white interior – dragon fruit.

Michael picks up the silver spoon set alongside it on a white, logoed plate with a folded linen napkin. The spoon is pleasingly heavy and hallmarked, he notices, and stamped with the name of the ship – Immanis. He unties the thick, gold and blue velvet ribbon, unwraps the cellophane and takes a scoop of the dragon fruit. He’s expecting it to be delicious from the way it looks, but it’s strangely tasteless. Ah well. He cuts a slice of mango instead. The juice runs down his hand and he pops it into his mouth. Much better.

He goes into the black marble bathroom and rinses the juice off. There’s a walk-in shower as well as an enormous bath and a huge array of toiletries – not only shampoo and shower gel but exfoliators, body lotions and shaving gel. There’s also a full-sized bottle of his favourite aftershave which he has been ordering from a perfumier in Morocco since discovering it when he was on holiday there years ago. There’s a note underneath on which ‘With the compliments of the captain and crew’ is written in elaborate cursive.