Murder on the Mystery Cruise

By Kurt Dawson

The murder was supposed to be part of the show.

Aboard The Ocean's Jewel, theater director Alex Reeve is determined to make opening night a success. But before the curtain rises, the applause system activates on its own, a bloodstained prop appears backstage, and a threatening message waits beneath a solitary spotlight.

Then the leading man collapses during the staged murder scene-poisoned by a prop someone deliberately altered.

Trapped at sea with a frightened cast and hundreds of passengers who think the chaos is part of the entertainment, Alex joins shipboard detective Miller in hunting an intruder who knows every corridor, every security blind spot, and every cue in her production.

Worse, the attacks mirror the methods of Damien Holt, the abusive former mentor Alex helped expose years ago. Damien is gone, but someone has studied his work-and built an entire performance around forcing Alex to confront what happened in Chicago.

The unseen director is controlling the stage. Alex is the unwilling star. And unless she can break the killer's script, the final act will end with a death no one can mistake for theater.

Murder on the Mystery Cruise is a tense psychological thriller filled with manipulation, buried guilt, cinematic suspense, and deadly misdirection.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FYQVQHT2
• ISBN13: 9798272404121
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 394 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"