This is volume 5 in the Maggie McGill Mystery series. In this story Allie is invited to go on an all-expense-paid 3-week cruise to Central America and through the Panama Canal. Posing as a photographer, she is on the lookout for anything illegal taking place on a student organization cruise called Sea Study. Allie invites Maggie to accompany her on the cruise to relax and recoup her energies, following the loss of her home and dear friend, Timothy. We see a new side of normally up-beat Maggie as she deals with grief and loss.

The reader reconnects with several characters from the previous books and is introduced to a new “holy man”, if you will, Kritsana, a Laotian refugee, who is very insightful and somehow, all-seeing. Kritsana helps Maggie and Allie as they become involved in an intricate mystery that threatens their very lives. 

I love the descriptions of the cruise ship and the various ports-of-call. I learned about molas, intricate appliquéd fabrics sometimes made into clothing. These beautiful art forms are made by the Kuna Indians from the islands off the coast of Panama, evolving from the custom these people had in the 1500’s of painting their bodies into complex and beautiful designs.

As in all of the Maggie McGill mysteries, whether they are in their home surroundings or elsewhere, Maggie and Allie enjoy their food and Earl Grey tea. The author goes into delightful descriptions of both the food and the surroundings. 

I found the development of the mystery slow moving and it is somewhat unclear how Maggie and Allie become involved in it, but apart from that it is a delightful story. The undercurrent running through the story, as in all of the books, is the very close, loving bond between mother and daughter. I recommend this clean read.

Note: This book is rated C = clean read.

Reviewed by Sandra

Disclosure: Thanks to Sharon Burch Toner for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

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