Murder Makes Waves: A Jack and Frances 1930s mystery

by Carmen Radtke

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2026

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hazardous waters

Frances, Jack and Uncle Sal are off on a trip to Merry Olde England. Jack’s mum has asked him to come yet hasn’t explained why. So while they anticipate a relaxing of puzzling journey it’s not exactly what they get. Tragedy befalls a passenger and one of the young performers that Frances has befriended has come under suspicion. She doesn’t believe in her guilt and asks for her family to help prove it. With the help of Jack, Sal and some friends both old and new the dig deep to find the truth. Great fun. Love that Uncle Sal and Frances get to have a little more fun performing. Love the kind of heist movie feel once the investigation gets underway. Very clever and amusing. A couple of great twists keep you guessing straight through to the end. Loved this story and third adventure for Jack and Frances.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. It's light reading with a bit of murder and mystery thrown in. Jack and Frances are delightful characters - nicely 'fleshed out', different enough that they make an interesting pair. And I like that they are from Australia, a country that hasn't figured prominently in my reading experience. This plot is a bit different from some of the earlier volumes in this series as we get to see Uncle Sal and Frances perform while on this sea voyage as part of their payment for the travel. I am having a bit of trouble visualizing exactly how this act plays out, but I can overlook that. The murder victim is not someone I am particularly fond of in this story, but I have grown to like the suspect. All in all, a fun read. And I feel like it can easily be a stand alone novel.

This ARC was provided by BookSirens and the publisher, the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

[Lorraine O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great, excellent storytelling, very well crafted plot and the characters are entertaining! Jack & Frances, along with Uncle Sal, Mildred, her corgi - Tinkerbell and nephew, Tommy are all on board a cruise ship from Australia to London. Sal & Frances will perform his magic act a few times on the cruise. Fran makes friends with some of the dancers back stage. There is a group of men who play cards & rumors of cheating come out. There is also a pickpocket on board. Put this together with the sleuthing abilities of our group and you have a very intriguing tale to read. Oh, don't forget someone gets murdered. It's a page turner.
Read on 09/08/26.
This book was originally published in 2020 in UK, in case you start reading and think you've read it before :)

[Margery · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is 1931 and 21 year old Francis is now engaged to Jack. With Uncle Sal, they all are the entertainment. The cruise ship is headed for London and the waters outside may be calm, but on board they are anything but calm, A passenger is found murdered and they know he/she are still on the ship. They have made friends who join them to quietly investigate and get Francis off the suspect list. Of course, the captain of the ship suspects Francis! The way the book is written I felt like I was on the ship, smelling the ocean air. This series is fantastic and fun to read. Will the next book be in England? Gotta wait and see!

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entertaining tale in the Jack and Frances series -- I was delighted to read it as an advance review copy.

Jack’s mother has asked him to come to England to help her with an undisclosed problem, and he invites Frances, his fiancee, and her Uncle Sal to join him. It will be a chance for Frances to meet his family, after all. So they set sail from Australia.

Shipboard life seems idylllic at first. Then Jack begins to suspect that one of the passengers is cheating at the gaming tables, and another passenger dies under suspicious circumstances.

It seems they just can’t get away from crime solving, even when they’re hundreds of miles out at sea.