Laura Lippman’s Murder Takes a Vacation is The Poisoned Pen’s Cozy Crimes Subscription Book of the Month. If you want a copy, you should order it now from the Webstore. https://bit.ly/43OdhSj
We’re lucky to have Oline Cogdill’s review of Murder Takes a Vacation, reviewed in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Book review: A river cruise is more than a getaway in energetically entertaining ‘Murder Takes a Vacation’
‘Murder Takes a Vacation’ by Laura Lippman; William Morrow; 272 pages; $30
Travel broadens our horizons, as the adage goes. It educates us in the ways of the world and changes us, sometimes in small ways, other times in large, unexpected ways. All that, and a lot more, happens to Muriel Blossom, the Baltimore widow whose adventures fuel Laura Lippman’s energetically entertaining “Murder Takes a Vacation.”
In this stand-alone novel, Lippman manages to combine a light amateur sleuth story with a harder-edged thriller, combining both types of mysteries, which seldom intersect, into a cohesive, solid plot.
“Murder Takes a Vacation” is an homage to the joys of travel, of discovering new passions, of never giving up — with a bit of a nod to “The Maltese Falcon.” It also is a valentine to aging well, to older women who often feel invisible, and a plea to not fade away.
Muriel Blossom — she prefers to be called Mrs. Blossom, as Lippman does throughout — has been a widow for a decade. At 68 years old, she feels she’s led a good life and, when her husband was alive, “even an excellent one,” but it’s also been “a rooted-to-the ground kind of existence.” She’s lived in Baltimore and more recently Phoenix, helping her daughter with the children. But now her daughter’s family is moving to Japan, where her son-in-law has accepted a promotion, and Mrs. Blossom wasn’t invited. Feeling more than a little adrift, Mrs. Blossom decides to return to Baltimore. But before that move, her life changes again when she finds an $8 million lottery ticket in a convenience store parking lot. No one claims the ticket.
To celebrate, Mrs. Blossom books a river cruise in France, planning a few days in Paris before her lifelong best friend, Elinor, joins her for a seven-day tour. Because she can, she is treating Elinor to the trip. Mrs. Blossom’s meticulous planning should assure smooth sailing, and it starts well when she’s upgraded on her transatlantic flight. Another surprise — she strikes up a friendship with Allan Turner, a charming, fellow traveler. Mrs. Blossom believes romance is a thing of the past, figuring that her plus size and age are drawbacks. But Allan seems romantically interested. They spend a wonderful time in London after they miss their connecting flight to Paris, tentatively making plans to have dinner in Baltimore.
Then Allan is found dead in Paris, where he is not supposed to be. Mrs. Blossom can’t seem to shake a young man, Danny Johnson, who keeps following her around in Paris, insisting on showing certain sights. And her hotel room is searched. All that happens before she sets sail.
Lippman superbly keeps “Murder Takes a Vacation” on course, adding realistic tension, dialogue and events that could happen to anyone. More experienced travelers might be aware of stranger danger and know how to avoid Danny. But Mrs. Blossom is more naive than worldly, not used to traveling and certainly not in a strange country, or by herself. She is not self-conscious about her size but she is about eating in restaurants solo.
Mrs. Blossom knows to call private investigator Tess Monaghan, the heroine of Lippman’s 12-novel series who makes clever cameo appearances. Mrs. Blossom worked as an assistant to Tess, frequently doing surveillance, knowing that older women often seem invisible to others.
Mrs. Blossom is a charming, appealing character, who would make a great travel companion and a true friend. Her emotional growth and new outlook on life are realistic.
Like in real life, this is a cruise that ends too soon. Readers will wish Mrs. Blossom much luck as she begins her new life when the cruise docks.
About the author
Earlier this year, the Mystery Writers of America named Laura Lippman and John Sandford as 2025 Grand Masters, an honor that recognizes their work. Lippman debuted in 1997 with “Baltimore Blues,” which introduced Tess Monaghan, a reporter-turned-private investigator. Lippman’s bibliography includes 12 books in the Tess series, 13 standalone novels, a short story collection, two essay collections, and a children’s book with her daughter. The Grand Master interview with Lippman and Sanford may be viewed at YouTube.com.