Carolyn Blue has a terrific surprise from her kids for Mother’s Day: a free cruise for two aboard the Bountiful Feast, a seagoing gourmet tour of Northern Africa and nearby islands. Her husband Jason can’t come, though, so she asks old friend Luz to keep her company — while Jason asks his mother if she’d like to go.
With Carolyn, Luz, and Carolyn’s mother in law all settled in the suite, the fun begins. Exotic locales and delicious recipes make you want to go on a cruise yourself, until it becomes clear that there are more dangers on board than just having sore toes after dancing with the ship’s doctor.
Told from the alternating viewpoints of genteel food columnist Carolyn and streetwise ex-cop Luz (and Jason, too, later in the book), this is an adventure rather than a mystery. It’s a fast-paced romp of a book, with quirky characters whose differing perceptions of the events in the book add to the entertainment.