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Mia Watson Cruise Ship Mysteries #1

Sinister Sailing: A Mia Watson Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery

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It’s all fun and games until…

Blocked romance writer Mia Watson has booked a relaxing murder mystery cruise for her anniversary. All she wants is a little fun in the sun, a little puzzling out who killed the victim–and a lot of winning the grand prize for solving the murder mystery. Two whole weeks anywhere she wants to go.

What could possibly go wrong?

Mia’s sorry she ever asked when solving the murder leads to another mystery she can’t ignore. 

Now she can’t help but think she’s set sail for troubled waters and that nothing will ever be the same again…

Shove off on a funny, fast-paced adventure with amateur sleuth Mia Watson as she navigates dangerous waters and deadly mysteries aboard the SS Bella Blanca.

A clean cozy mystery series.

148 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2023

88 people are currently reading
231 people want to read

About the author

Gwen Taylor

4 books1 follower

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5 stars
93 (41%)
4 stars
73 (32%)
3 stars
44 (19%)
2 stars
11 (4%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Yvonne.
1,349 reviews264 followers
December 9, 2023
Mia Watson and her husband are celebrating their anniversary with a murder mystery cruise. Mia is over-the-top excited, while her husband not so much. She meets new people and gets totally absorbed into solving the murder. Meanwhile, her husband doesn’t seem to want anything to do with it.

Although the murder mystery is staged for the cruise ship, it’s still fun trying to figure things out with Mia and her new friends. There are a couple of real-life mysteries going on, although no dead bodies are involved.

This is a short mystery that had me from the start. I’m really enjoying cruise ship mysteries these days and this is the first in a series. The characters are well-written and the plot moves along at a fast pace. There were a few surprises thrown into the mix as well. It made for a great afternoon escape.

I’ll be checking out the other books in the near future.
Profile Image for Tari.
3,684 reviews103 followers
August 20, 2023
I really enjoyed the first of this new to me series I randomly found as a KU suggestion. I immediately liked Mia and her two new friends she made on the cruise and of course Officer Brown Eyes 😉. Even though there was only the murder mystery weekend fake murder, Mia hadn’t realized until the end there was a very real mystery she’d end up solving. And that gave her the chance at brand new life. I can’t wait to borrow the next book when it comes out!
Profile Image for The Poisoned Pen.
162 reviews5 followers
October 20, 2024
This was a good start to a new series!

I will be honest, at times it dragged for me because I knew the husband was cheating really early on, and it took the main character foreverrrrrrrrr to figure out. I got really tired of her oblivious comments and behavior very quickly.

The other characters were unique and fun, except for the husband. I enjoyed the mystery cruise idea, though the way they worked to solve it also got a little dull at times.

If you've read the 2nd book, you'll notice little things in this book that tie into it, which was fun.

The ending for the book was pretty solid. A fresh start and a new adventure are always exciting.

I've read the 2nd book, and will read the 3rd, but I may not read any more after that depending on how the 3rd book goes. I'm struggling with how long the books are when they don't need to be. The plot feels dragged out just for a higher page count. These would be good 200 page books.
Profile Image for Kb.
753 reviews
August 31, 2024
Okay, so first things first. There are two authors? If that’s true, they need a much better editing job on this short book. I couldn’t understand why in one chapter a fellow murder mystery cruiser was characterized as “Mrs. Marple”, only to be later called “Miss Marple” (which is correct). I also couldn’t understand why the style kept switching from American English to British English. Having two authors might explain it.

Also, can someone please explain to me what a sunflower smells like and why anyone would want to wear perfume with that scent?

Other than that, it’s a cute story that does not resemble any type of real cruise that I am familiar with—so if you’ve never been on a cruise before, don’t take this book as an indication of what it might be like.

Positives for this book:

- It’s a (mostly) well-written, quick, easy read with believable characters.
- It takes place on a cruise ship (even if it’s a bit unrealistic).
- It’s a clean cozy, no swears, no real blood, just a tiny hint of menace and a bit of “canoodling”.

So, I guess if you’re looking for some light reading and you are a fan of cozy mysteries, you might like this book.
Profile Image for Bree Snyder.
2 reviews
October 26, 2023
This was a great cozy mystery! I enjoyed the setting in a cruise ship. This made me want to go on a mystery cruise of my own. It was a great palate cleanser coming off of some epic fantasies. I like to flip flop between intense world building and light hearted fun. I read it in one day and feel refreshed. The characters are well developed for the length of the book. I hope the next ones in the series follow the same characters because I’m excited to see how things with the main character develop. Now, can anyone suggest a real life murder mystery cruise?
2,262 reviews44 followers
January 1, 2025
Mia Watson and her husband Shane are on a four-day Bella Blanca Murder Mystery Cruise from Miami to Haiti. It's their fifteenth anniversary and while Shane isn't interested in the murder mystery, Mia has made new friends Edie Eddington and her grandson, who are. The three of them are determined to follow the clues and solve the "murder of Cruise Director Lucas Chalmers". This is a quick fun read. I enjoyed the characters, the setting--cruise ship, and the possibility of endless future adventures in this series.
Profile Image for Shelly Neinast.
Author 4 books23 followers
February 23, 2025
What's involved in a murder

This is the first book in the series, Mia Watson cruise mystery. I found it funny and entertaining as the protagonist and her newfound friends tried to solve the mystery on the cruise.
I really didn't understand Mia's husband, who was a dead beat on their anniversary cruise. But later you find out way. Anyway, the storyline was fast-paced for a cozy mystery and interesting and fun to read. I lot of twist and turns as the group tried solving the murder before everyone else for the prize of a two week cruise.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
1,174 reviews7 followers
July 27, 2025
This is the first in the series. The main character is Mia. Mia goes on a mystery murder cruise with her husband of 15 years for their anniversary. She makes new friends and starts to solve the murder with them but her husband is no where to be seen. Can she figure what is going on with her husband and figure out who did the murder ?
125 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2024
A sweet, fun quick read

This is just what you need when you want something light, fun and quick to read. The book is finished within a brief time and the reader is left with a smile on her face. In my mind, a perfect cozy mystery!
1,097 reviews4 followers
September 6, 2023
A fun mystery

If you enjoy cruising and mysteries... this is one for you. It is a fun, easy read. Looking forward to book two.
1,415 reviews9 followers
January 9, 2024
Who killed Lucas and why and how??? Switched trolleys??? I enjoyed this game, the story and recommended the book.
Profile Image for Joanne Bandfield-Freeman.
435 reviews7 followers
July 31, 2024
Fun

This was a very fast paced story that I really enjoyed. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Vickie.
498 reviews
May 25, 2025
This was a really good book. Light enough to be enjoyable and real enough to be believable. A slight twist at the end allows Mia to have a new lease on life.
Profile Image for Sarah.
571 reviews8 followers
July 4, 2025
If you want an extremely cozy, no stakes, quick book set on a cruise, this is a book. It was just so very basic and I couldn’t follow the game plot at all.
Profile Image for Erica Jones.
59 reviews
August 7, 2025
This was such a good short story and I'm very excited to read the other books in this series!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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