Dead Slow Ahead (Casey Jones Cruise Ship Mysteries) - Hardcover

Whitelaw began her writing career as a cub reporter on a newspaper and becme the youngest female chief reporter in London. She has had over thirty novels published, as well as approximately 230 short stories.

Cruise Entertainments Director Casey Jones used to be a dancer. A broken ankle ended that career, and now she finds working on a cruise ship almost as much fun and even more exciting. This time the luxury liner is off to the Mediterranean, and things are not going smoothly. One of the passengers endures a series of pranks and thefts; one of the entertainers suffers from severe stage fright; items go missing from the ship's boutique; and then one of the guest lecturers collapses and dies. Casey is not sure whom she can trust but is tempted to turn to her sometime friend, the ship's gorgeous doctor, Sam Mallory, for help. The mystery and romance are greatly enhanced by Whitelaw's descriptions of the various ports of call: Palma, Barcelona, Toulon, Saint-Tropez, Monte Carlo, Santa Margherita, Rome, Elba, Corsica, Calvi, Gibraltar, and Lisbon. This promising series, from the author of the Jordan Lacey mysteries, has an interesting premise and should be good for several more outings. --Booklist, 1st November 2008