The Borrowing Days

by Frances Murray

This is a classic whodunnit set on one of the Hurtigruten cruise ships which serve the incredible coast of Norway. A particularly unpleasant passenger is murdered and his family come under strong suspicion for they have a very considerable motives for getting rid of him. The weather takes a hand and the ship is forced to take refuge from a storm and the case is investigated by a crew member in claustrophobic and difficult conditions and he makes use of his IT expertise to make some astonishing discoveries about the victim while the family make some equally astonishing discoveries about themselves and some of the other passengers.

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2011

About the author

Rosemary Frances Sutherland was born on 10 February 1928 in Lanark, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK, the daughter of Frances (Wotherspoon), an artist, and Donald Sutherland, a journalist and playwright. She studied at the University of Glasgow (1945–1947), later she decided took a year out and worked for and toured with the Unity Theatre of Glasgow (1948–1949). On August 28, 1950 she married Robert Edward Booth, a manager, and they had three daughters: Lesley, Judith, and Frances.

In 1965, she gained an MA at the University of St Andrews, followed by a Diploma in Education in 1966. She taught History at Perth Academy, Scotland (1966-1972) and was Head of History Department at Linlathan School, Dundee (1972-1976). She was principal teacher of History at the Ladies' College, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Isles (1976-1993). In 1993, she retired from teaching. Throughout her professional teaching career and her retirement, she has always written. She was published from 1966 to 1986. Since 2011, she auto-published e-books in amazon.

After her retiring, Rosemary and her husband then moved to Spain to live, then to France where she now lives in the Tarn River area, where she has her second residence during years.

Reviews

[Carro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic whodunnit set on a cruise ship and I think that of all of Frances Murray's more recent releases on Kindle-only, it is the neatest in construction – simply because the cast of characters is smaller. I've not counted up the total number of characters in each book, but this one gives the impression of the smallest cast. I very much like her other recent Kindle releases, with their big casts, however in one or two places I had to concentrate hard to track who is who. This book does not have that problem.
A wealthy man with his second wife, stepdaughter and son of his first marriage goes on a voyage/cruise up the coast of Norway, on a Norwegian cruise/ferry ship. He is an domineering bully, and by the time the book starts, part way through the trip, he is thoroughly disliked by all the crew and passengers. Guess who falls overboard.
The ship has to put into a remote harbour, to weather a violent storm and it is the first officer, a former policeman, who conducts the initial enquiry.
There is a good range of characters, likeable and annoying. Everyone very much comes across as a real person. The scenery is beautifully described. There is romance and satisfying conclusions of several plot threads, not just the mystery.
I've read this twice and enjoyed it both times.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

I loved this story just as much this time reading it as I did before. History, a murder mystery, likeable main characters... Grin. Per and Harriet and the rest are such fun.

[MB (What she read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mystery set on a cruise ship. Very Golden Age/Agatha-Christieish. I enjoyed it.