Today’s team review is from Cathy, she blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/
Cathy has been reading Death On The Danube by Jennifer S. Alderson
After losing the job she loved, not to mention her husband leaving her for his new assistant, Lana Hansen’s fresh start in Seattle isn’t working out as planned. Thank goodness for eccentric Dotty Thompson, her landlady and good friend. Dotty persuades Lana to escort a tour group in Budapest, taking the place of an injured tour guide. Along with her property portfolio, Dotty also owned several small businesses, but Wanderlust Tours was her favourite and she wanted to make sure it stayed successful.
Lana really didn’t have a choice as her rent was due and she was broke. This offer of Dotty’s would certainly tide her over and meant that she wouldn’t be home alone over the New Year. Apart from that, it would be a free trip and she knew Dotty’s company specialised in high end travel.
“Lana had originally envisioned Budapest as a city full of gray, Communist-era buildings. But the photos in Dotty’s guidebooks were of beautifully maintained neoclassical, baroque, medieval, Gothic, and rococo buildings. Driving through the heart of the city, Lana was glad to see Dotty’s books didn’t lie. The imposing statues, tiered fountains, captivating monuments, delicate spires, and majestic buildings decorated with snow and sparkly lights made Lana feel as if they were driving through a postcard.”
Lana’s tour group is a mix of colourful, if not always likeable, characters and Lana has to diffuse more than one awkward situation. For Dotty’s sake, she was determined to do her best. The other tour guide, Carl, has troubles of his own and is finding it difficult to focus on his job, leaving Lana to cope much of the time. Then a body is found in the river, but was it an accident or something more sinister…not everyone in the group is who they seem and there are obvious hostilities rising to the surface.
Lana’s efforts to discover the truth throw up more questions than answers and her anticipation for the trip has turned into more of a nightmare. She’s trapped aboard the boat with a murderer and, as we learn more about the passengers, it seems several people might have a motive.
Along with the mystery are vivid descriptions of Budapest, picturesque scenery, wonderful Christmas markets and fascinating landmarks along the way. The mix of travel and murder make for a fun cosy mystery.
Who knew a New Year’s trip to Budapest could be so deadly? The tour must go on – even with a killer in their midst…
Recent divorcee Lana Hansen needs a break. Her luck has run sour for going on a decade, ever since she got fired from her favorite job as an investigative reporter. When her fresh start in Seattle doesn’t work out as planned, Lana ends up unemployed and penniless on Christmas Eve.
Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours, is also in a tight spot after one of her tour guides ends up in the hospital, leaving her a guide short on Christmas Day.
When Dotty offers her a job leading the tour group through Budapest, Hungary, Lana jumps at the chance. It’s the perfect way to ring in the new year and pay her rent!
What starts off as the adventure of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare when Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube River. Was it murder or accidental death? Suspects abound when Lana discovers almost everyone on the tour had a bone to pick with Carl.
But Dotty insists the tour must go on, so Lana finds herself trapped with nine murder suspects. When another guest turns up dead, Lana has to figure out who the killer is before she too ends up floating in the Danube…
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.
Rosie Amber 