Death on the Lusitania

by R.L. Graham

'An instant classic' Daily Mail
'A real page-turner!' Ben Kane

The ship was doomed before it ever left port. His fate was sealed before he ever stepped on board. From R. L. Graham, Death on the Lusitania is an immersive WW1 historical novel set aboard the ill-fated ocean liner.

Welcome on board the Lusitania’s final voyage . . .

New York, 1915. RMS Lusitania, one of the world’s most luxurious ocean liners, departs for war-torn Europe. Among those on board is Patrick Gallagher, a civil servant in Her Majesty’s government tasked with escorting a British diplomat back to England.

When a fellow passenger is believed to have shot himself in his cabin, Gallagher is asked by the captain to investigate the scene. But one crucial detail doesn’t fit. The man’s body was discovered in a locked cabin with the key inside and no gun to be found. Was it really suicide? Or murder?

Gallagher believes one of the passengers is a deadly killer - one who could strike again at any moment. And all the while, the ship sails on towards Europe, where enemy submarines patrol dark waters . . .

'Perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie' Philip Gray
'An enthralling locked-room mystery' Chris Lloyd
'Totally absorbing' Leonoa Nattrass

Genres: Mystery

401 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2024

About the author

R. L. Graham is a husband-and-wife team of historians and writers with a broad range of interests in many periods of history, including the belle époque and the tumultuous years leading up to the First World War and the post-war re-ordering of the world.

They are very much drawn to the shadowy world of crime, espionage and political intrigue. They are particularly fascinated by historical mysteries: things which have happened but have no apparent explanation. Originally from Canada, they moved to a small village in Devon in the year 2000.

Marilyn Livingstone, one half of R. L. Graham, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while this book was being written. She passed away in September 2023.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[Thijs Hanssen · Rating 4 out of 5]

it does that cool thing like in the first Knives Out that the genre switches between who dunnit and thriller

[Maryann (Mae) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent tale. Patrick Gallagher is intriguing, with just enough "wink, wink" in his background to keep you, the reader, wanting so much more. I plan to pick up and read the next book in this new series, for me at least. I'm sure that this relationship will only grow. I highly suggest this become a book on everyone's to-read list.

[Kidlitter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is a little bit of a clunker - we all know that there is going to be an awful lot of death with the Lusitania chugging along towards its doom - no spoiler, this is history. Reading this was a bit like being trapped in one of those 80s disaster television miniseries where there's a blitz of predictable characters eyeing each other while a little bit of back story is revealed for each one, there are gaps in the resulting plot lines, the actors do their best with contemporary hairdos and makeup to convince viewers that this is all historically accurate and all the time you just know the ship is going to sink. Some books put this sort of thing over better than others but this is not one of them. The Lusitania was a horrible wartime incident of mass death but in the end, the reader can't connect. Better to watch something about it on The History Channel.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story. It is fiction but about a factual ship and sinking. The authors take facts about that ship and make them into a murder mystery with spies and much intrigue.

Spoiler: I would give this 5 stars, but I am not happy with the way one character is treated. She was a groomer, a Ghislane Maxwell. And yet, since she wasn't doing that anymore and felt bad about it, she was excused. I have a huge problem with that. At that point, I wanted to stop reading and give it one star. I continued in the hope that she would be punished for all of the young girls whose lives she'd destroyed. That never did happen. I give the book 4 stars because it is good, but that story line should have been different.

[Karri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book! But the people are caricatures and the writing repetitive (I am so over reading about how the deck rolled as the waves moved beneath it). It is clearly meticulously researched, and the authors' knowledge of the event and the time period was staggering. But literally every person was a criminal. There was no figuring it out, because it was, in some way or other, everyone!! The denouements were lackluster at best, and as I was reading, I swear I almost missed them. My overall impression as I finished was, "That was fine."

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendous read; well-written locked-cabin murder mystery featuring a compelling array of devious characters and their schemes craftily woven into real events. The crimes pile up and the mysteries deepen on board the ship as British secret service agent Gallagher tries to figure out who did what to whom and why (and when!), and all the while RMS Lusitania ploughs onward across the Atlantic towards its fate on 7 May 1915.

[Richard Beetlestone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting insight into this famous ship, although it's hard to know how factual various aspects were.
The story felt well written, but a large amount of characters and never ending who is who, and who did what, meant it all got too confusing and ultimately left me uninterested unfortunately.

[Michael Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

his book provides the ultimate sensory retreat. The scenery and mood are so deeply textured that you can almost feel the cool breeze or smell the ambient surroundings. My Amazon order is in; I need a physical copy to read slowly on a quiet afternoon.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly the worst book I’ve ever finished. One star because I did manage to finish it. So silly I was mostly laughing by the end.