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1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt #2
Murder on the S.S. Cleopatra
Luxury, lies, and murder on a Nile cruise
Join Blix Windway, an adventurous lady traveler, on a journey down the Nile in 1924. An eclectic mix of passengers boards the steamer, including a captain of industry, a former stunt-girl reporter turned lady of the manor, an archaeologist, an American teacher, a British doctor and his invalid wife, and a German photographer.
When a passenger is found dead, the elegant cruise turns into a floating crime scene. With everyone confined on board, tensions rise and secrets surface. Even her traveling companion, Hildy Honeyworth, is behaving as if she has something to hide. Blix must navigate the treacherous waters of the investigation and uncover the truth.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Nile River and the ancient wonders of Egypt, this classic whodunit is the second book in the 1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt series from USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett.
Join Blix Windway, an adventurous lady traveler, on a journey down the Nile in 1924. An eclectic mix of passengers boards the steamer, including a captain of industry, a former stunt-girl reporter turned lady of the manor, an archaeologist, an American teacher, a British doctor and his invalid wife, and a German photographer.
When a passenger is found dead, the elegant cruise turns into a floating crime scene. With everyone confined on board, tensions rise and secrets surface. Even her traveling companion, Hildy Honeyworth, is behaving as if she has something to hide. Blix must navigate the treacherous waters of the investigation and uncover the truth.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Nile River and the ancient wonders of Egypt, this classic whodunit is the second book in the 1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt series from USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2025
63 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Sara Rosett
49 books1,675 followersUSA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett writes lighthearted mysteries for readers who enjoy atmospheric settings, fun characters, and puzzling whodunits.
She is the author of the High Society Lady Detective historical mystery series as well as three contemporary cozy series, the Murder on Location series, the On the Run series, and the Ellie Avery series. Sara also teaches an online course, How to Outline A Cozy Mystery.
Publishers Weekly called Sara's books, “satisfying,” “well-executed,” and “sparkling.” Sara loves to get new stamps in her passport and considers dark chocolate a daily requirement. Find out more at SaraRosett.com.
She is the author of the High Society Lady Detective historical mystery series as well as three contemporary cozy series, the Murder on Location series, the On the Run series, and the Ellie Avery series. Sara also teaches an online course, How to Outline A Cozy Mystery.
Publishers Weekly called Sara's books, “satisfying,” “well-executed,” and “sparkling.” Sara loves to get new stamps in her passport and considers dark chocolate a daily requirement. Find out more at SaraRosett.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 6, 2025
Loved this! It’s clearly a tribute to Death on the Nile but the story is unique and so much fun. I adore Blix and Hildy and the developing relationships that I won’t say more about. I even guessed the murderer! The supporting characters were very enjoyable with some good red herrings. The setting on the ship and on the Nile was lovely. I thought Sara Rosett described it beautifully. I also love the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter that are either from the gossip column of the local paper (The Nile) or letters from an “Ask Amelia” column. So clever! Eagerly awaiting Book 3 in the trilogy!
October 29, 2025
3.5 STARS
Blix and Hillary are off on their Nile cruise and a "locked room (ship)" murder occurs and once again, it's up to Blix and Briarcliff to solve the mystery.
I love Sara Rosett's "High Society Lady Detective" series so that leads to comparisons a bit and also makes me a bit more... forgiving.. about a few things because I'm already a big fan, so to speak.
Murder on the SS Cleopatra was a twisty little mystery. Blix and Briarcliff had no plans to reunite after the events in Cairo so they are still in a very early stage of getting to know each other, with romantic "hints" here and there but the mystery is definitely the focus here.
I try not to go into too much detail in case I give away plot points so I'll keep it high level. The story was engaging and I was an eager reader for things to unfold. The setting was a bit of a disappointment as the majority of the book occurs on a steamer ON the Nile, and the boat honestly could have been on the Mississippi river. Outside of one initial excursion to introduce the characters, the entire rest of the book takes place onboard. My second issue was wishing that the mystery was a bit more high stakes for our team of 3 reoccurring characters. Yes, they were apparently traveling with a murderer but at no time did it feel like their lives were in danger... more so a reputation thing in case of a future investigation. There was another low stakes reason for one of the 3, but again, it was low stakes. It would have raised the feeling of danger, isolation and anticipation if at least one of our characters was under more of a threat.
Blix is very independent and at times chafed at having to cooperate with Briarcliff, which seemed largely due to lack of communication and her fear of being made the focus of speculation. The former did feel true to the time period where certain things were not discussed and/or discussed between the sexes and the second gave us a bit more insight into her background. Briarcliff became much less interesting to me in this read and I really felt Blix's annoyance with his cluelessness at times. I did feel like Blix doesn't really need him and kinda wished this is the last we see of him as a reoccurring character/love interest. I would have enjoyed the book more if just Blix or even Blix and Hildy worked to solve the murder. That being said, looking forward to the next installment.
Audio was top notch and super engaging.
Blix and Hillary are off on their Nile cruise and a "locked room (ship)" murder occurs and once again, it's up to Blix and Briarcliff to solve the mystery.
I love Sara Rosett's "High Society Lady Detective" series so that leads to comparisons a bit and also makes me a bit more... forgiving.. about a few things because I'm already a big fan, so to speak.
Murder on the SS Cleopatra was a twisty little mystery. Blix and Briarcliff had no plans to reunite after the events in Cairo so they are still in a very early stage of getting to know each other, with romantic "hints" here and there but the mystery is definitely the focus here.
I try not to go into too much detail in case I give away plot points so I'll keep it high level. The story was engaging and I was an eager reader for things to unfold. The setting was a bit of a disappointment as the majority of the book occurs on a steamer ON the Nile, and the boat honestly could have been on the Mississippi river. Outside of one initial excursion to introduce the characters, the entire rest of the book takes place onboard. My second issue was wishing that the mystery was a bit more high stakes for our team of 3 reoccurring characters. Yes, they were apparently traveling with a murderer but at no time did it feel like their lives were in danger... more so a reputation thing in case of a future investigation. There was another low stakes reason for one of the 3, but again, it was low stakes. It would have raised the feeling of danger, isolation and anticipation if at least one of our characters was under more of a threat.
Blix is very independent and at times chafed at having to cooperate with Briarcliff, which seemed largely due to lack of communication and her fear of being made the focus of speculation. The former did feel true to the time period where certain things were not discussed and/or discussed between the sexes and the second gave us a bit more insight into her background. Briarcliff became much less interesting to me in this read and I really felt Blix's annoyance with his cluelessness at times. I did feel like Blix doesn't really need him and kinda wished this is the last we see of him as a reoccurring character/love interest. I would have enjoyed the book more if just Blix or even Blix and Hildy worked to solve the murder. That being said, looking forward to the next installment.
Audio was top notch and super engaging.
September 24, 2025
Blix is entangled in another mysterious death while cruising down the Nile. She reluctantly pairs up with an old acquaintance to solve the perplexing case. An enjoyable case but I wish they had ventured off the boat and explored Egypt more during their detecting.
November 18, 2025
Ms. Rosett writes several historical & contemporary mystery cozy series surrounding travel which I like.
I've read several of them as I like to do them on audio.
This is book #2 in a trilogy.
Unfortunately, this isn't one of my fave's. I do like that it's 1920's Egypt which has some of the romantic elements of travel back then. (of course I prefer our modern day)
And I like that it's 2 strong, independent women protagonists in a time when women didn't have equality.
I hope that in the next book, Blix might have more of a confirmed romance instead of just looks across the room.
The story moves slowly. The mystery was ok as there were numerous suspects.
But it's just so/so in comparison to some of her other series.
I've read several of them as I like to do them on audio.
This is book #2 in a trilogy.
Unfortunately, this isn't one of my fave's. I do like that it's 1920's Egypt which has some of the romantic elements of travel back then. (of course I prefer our modern day)
And I like that it's 2 strong, independent women protagonists in a time when women didn't have equality.
I hope that in the next book, Blix might have more of a confirmed romance instead of just looks across the room.
The story moves slowly. The mystery was ok as there were numerous suspects.
But it's just so/so in comparison to some of her other series.
January 2, 2026
I am thorougly enjoying this historical mystery series. In this edition, Blix and Hildy are on a steamer from Cairo to Luxor. While we get a few stops along the way, most of the aciton takes place on the steamer, as two murders occur, and there's an outbreak of scarlet fever. There was a great feel for what it would be like to spend a long time on a steamer on the Nile.
I especially enjoyed the excerts at the beginning of each chapter of fictional stories from local newspapers. They helped set the tone for the book.
I look forward to the next in the series, and hope we get a lot of Luxor in it.
I especially enjoyed the excerts at the beginning of each chapter of fictional stories from local newspapers. They helped set the tone for the book.
I look forward to the next in the series, and hope we get a lot of Luxor in it.
January 28, 2026
I really enjoyed book one in the 1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt series, so I went into Murder on the SS Cleopatra genuinely excited to continue the adventure. Sadly, this one landed at a solid three stars for me.
The setting is undeniably cool—a river cruise down the Nile in the 1920s? Yes please. The vibes were there. But for me, the story struggled under the weight of too many characters who felt very similar. I kept mixing people up, and unfortunately that meant I didn’t feel especially invested when characters started turning up dead… or in figuring out who the killer was.
This one also took me forever to finish. I kept setting it down and just not feeling the urge to pick it back up. Today I finally sat down and powered through to the end—not because I was dying to know what happened, but because I wanted to be done.
That said, I do enjoy Sara Rosett as an author, and one of her other series is a favorite of mine, so I’m not giving up entirely. I’ll likely continue on with the series, hoping this was just a middle-book slump for me—but this installment was more of a miss than a hit.
The setting is undeniably cool—a river cruise down the Nile in the 1920s? Yes please. The vibes were there. But for me, the story struggled under the weight of too many characters who felt very similar. I kept mixing people up, and unfortunately that meant I didn’t feel especially invested when characters started turning up dead… or in figuring out who the killer was.
This one also took me forever to finish. I kept setting it down and just not feeling the urge to pick it back up. Today I finally sat down and powered through to the end—not because I was dying to know what happened, but because I wanted to be done.
That said, I do enjoy Sara Rosett as an author, and one of her other series is a favorite of mine, so I’m not giving up entirely. I’ll likely continue on with the series, hoping this was just a middle-book slump for me—but this installment was more of a miss than a hit.
October 10, 2025
A delightful romp down the Nile with a cast of colourful characters, deception, intrigue, secrets and unexpected death. Blix and Hildy are sailing to Luxor after their capers in Cairo and looking forward to the sights along the way. This was a classic 1920's style whodunnit with plenty of suspects, some red herrings and a clever unveiling. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the boat, the sights, and the manners of the 1920's. The story was well written and I was delighted to find characters from the previous book along for the ride. I figured out the how at around 60%, but the who and why evaded me a lot longer which was great as I don't like knowing too early. I splurged for the special ebook edition from Sara direct and really liked the photo's of all the passengers. Now to wait impatiently for the final story in the trilogy. 4.5*
November 6, 2025
Pleasantly impressed! I really enjoyed the writing on the previous installment, and I feel like that carried through to this one. What made me give it five stars instead of four was I feel the interactions between Blitz and Briarcliff really improved in this book. We all saw it coming, and I feel like the trope of a lady investigator, falling in love with her investigative companion in books like this is extremely common, but this felt like Sara had some real skill with romance writing.
I feel like it was a little bit of a cop out to give us the flair of Europeans in Egypt in the 1920s in the epigraph before each chapter rather than have that integrated into the story, like it was in the last one.
I feel like it was a little bit of a cop out to give us the flair of Europeans in Egypt in the 1920s in the epigraph before each chapter rather than have that integrated into the story, like it was in the last one.
December 9, 2025
3.5*
For some reason I didn't enjoy this sequel as much as the first in the series. I don't know how to describe it other than it felt a bit more wooden than I was expecting. Blix seemed less animated, especially in her interactions with Briarcliff. The mystery itself was okay. I was glad that it had some layers to it, though the ending seemed very obvious from the clues, and I was confused as to why there wasn't more of a red herring situation. Maybe too much information was given away too soon.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Sara's books and I'll keep reading the series, this installment just felt like it could have used a punch up draft or another pass before publication. Still fun though.
For some reason I didn't enjoy this sequel as much as the first in the series. I don't know how to describe it other than it felt a bit more wooden than I was expecting. Blix seemed less animated, especially in her interactions with Briarcliff. The mystery itself was okay. I was glad that it had some layers to it, though the ending seemed very obvious from the clues, and I was confused as to why there wasn't more of a red herring situation. Maybe too much information was given away too soon.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Sara's books and I'll keep reading the series, this installment just felt like it could have used a punch up draft or another pass before publication. Still fun though.
January 2, 2026
“So I’m an annoyance?” Blix Windway (Yes, yes you are.)
(Said I wouldn’t read the second book but here I am.) Better than the first one. In the first one I found the MC very annoying but it’s better here. There’s a bunch of forced annoyance and bickering between the MC and the love interest because that’s the rule, they should be bickering. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you want your MC and the love interest to be arguing, give them a reason!
Anyway, the silly named MC Blix Windway (sounds like a fart) is on a cruise on the Nile when someone dies… was it a natural death (of course not) or is there a murder on board? (of course there is).
There will be one more book in the series and I guess I will read it if I bump into it.
(Said I wouldn’t read the second book but here I am.) Better than the first one. In the first one I found the MC very annoying but it’s better here. There’s a bunch of forced annoyance and bickering between the MC and the love interest because that’s the rule, they should be bickering. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you want your MC and the love interest to be arguing, give them a reason!
Anyway, the silly named MC Blix Windway (sounds like a fart) is on a cruise on the Nile when someone dies… was it a natural death (of course not) or is there a murder on board? (of course there is).
There will be one more book in the series and I guess I will read it if I bump into it.
October 24, 2025
clever mystery that keeps you guessing.
Book two of the Lady Traveler in Egypt did not disappoint.
It's a clever whodunit with interesting characters and picturesque locations. The story takes a locked room mystery to a new level with a locked ship mystery..... everyone is aboard a riverboad crusing the nile when a murders happen. How and why were they killed, and who did it? I kinda guessed who at the end, but like our sleuths I couldn't figure out how until very late in the book when the murder modus operandi was disclosed/unveiled.
Book two of the Lady Traveler in Egypt did not disappoint.
It's a clever whodunit with interesting characters and picturesque locations. The story takes a locked room mystery to a new level with a locked ship mystery..... everyone is aboard a riverboad crusing the nile when a murders happen. How and why were they killed, and who did it? I kinda guessed who at the end, but like our sleuths I couldn't figure out how until very late in the book when the murder modus operandi was disclosed/unveiled.
December 25, 2025
I enjoyed this story, but I am disappointed with the new so called special edition hardback format. The characters are bright, intelligent, and sophisticated. The plot is easily followed and the premise is finding out how the industrialist died and why his secretary was poisoned. The answers are hard won and there are plenty of surprises. I most certainly recommend this book and anything else this author has written.
November 2, 2025
I enjoyed the novel and look forward to the next one. My favorite parts were the actual travel portions and I wish more of the mystery could have included more details about visiting the sights along the Nile in 1920s Egypt. The long section spent interviewing the passengers on the boat could have occurred anywhere. More Egyptian flavor would have been a good addition to the plot.
November 19, 2025
The best cozy mystery I've ever read. Very well-written and engaging with a diverse and entertaining cast of characters. A small steam ship is on a cruise of the Nile with various stops along the way. Two murders, onboard games, illness and anonymous letters keep this book moving and amusing from start to finish. Can't wait for 1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt #3.
November 22, 2025
Another fun Lady Traveler mystery! I really enjoy following Blix, Hildy, and Rafe across Egypt. We dived right into the action and the pace was steady until the actual investigation began; after that, the story did feel like it dragged a little bit. I was able to guess the culprit fairly quickly, but overall I had a good time and I’m excited for the last of the trilogy to come out!
January 12, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this second book of the 1920s Lady Traveler in Eqypt series, and I cannot wait to read the next! I enjoy cozy mysteries like this esp when set in Egypt. In the meantime until the next in the series comes out,I plan to read Sara Rosett's other series!Kudos to Ms. Rosett for a great new series.
October 30, 2025
Loved it!
Blix, Hildy and Mr. Briarcliff are such great characters, each with their own secrets. I can hardly wait for the next adventure! Are you sure you won’t consider more than a trilogy?
Blix, Hildy and Mr. Briarcliff are such great characters, each with their own secrets. I can hardly wait for the next adventure! Are you sure you won’t consider more than a trilogy?
November 4, 2025
intriguing mystery
The trip down the Nile includes murder, communicable disease, and romance! Wow! Our crime solving duo spend a lot of time tracking down disguised people with fake purposes for the trip. Several are hiding their real identities and a couple are seeking revenge.
The trip down the Nile includes murder, communicable disease, and romance! Wow! Our crime solving duo spend a lot of time tracking down disguised people with fake purposes for the trip. Several are hiding their real identities and a couple are seeking revenge.
November 5, 2025
An enjoyable second installment in the Lady Traveler series. Since we were on a Nile cruise in Egypt as I was reading the book, it made it even better. The book captured the essence of Egypt and the added 2929s era setting was fun. It was good mystery too.
October 29, 2025
Five little pigs meets Death on the Nile.
I enjoyed the cast of characters a lot more in this one compared to the first, and the setting was super well utilised
I enjoyed the cast of characters a lot more in this one compared to the first, and the setting was super well utilised
November 2, 2025
I loved this one! The setting was great, and the characters are really cute. I'm disappointed that this series will only be a trilogy.
November 12, 2025
The second book was even better than the first! The author says this is a trilogy, but I hope she ends up writing more. Blix and Hildy are some of my favorite characters!
November 26, 2025
Listened to audiobook
November 26, 2025
Fun read. I enjoyed the mystery and the setting.
January 3, 2026
Enjoyable
Easy, breezy read, enjoyed the characters and the setting, hoping that there will be more than one book to come in the future.
Easy, breezy read, enjoyed the characters and the setting, hoping that there will be more than one book to come in the future.
January 3, 2026
Really loved this , exciting kept me guessing. Diverse characters and fast paced could hardly put down . Look forward to more from this series.
January 10, 2026
I liked this one much more than the first!
January 18, 2026
This is an enjoyable series. Looking forward to the next book.
December 3, 2025
Where to begin? The book itself is beautiful. The artwork on the cover and sprayed edges perfectly fit the theme/vibe of the book. I loved all the little details at the beginning of the chapters. I truly enjoyed all the photos of the characters dispersed throughout. The story itself? Another masterpiece. I am biased since Sara Rosett is one of my favorite authors. The character development and interactions were realistic and enjoyable. The mystery was well written with twists and turns and a few red herrings. The story reminded me of Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. I can’t wait for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews