The Cruise

by Maeve Binchy (Contributor), Bernard Cornwell (Contributor), Ken Follett (Contributor)

On the inaugural voyage of the luxury liner the "Oriana" a murderer strikes. Each chapter of this novel has been written by a different author. The authors involved include Maeve Binchy, Bernard Cornwell, William Horwood, Susan Howatch, Eileen Townsend and Joanna Trollope.

Many authors have contributed to this novel to help raise funds for the Dyslexia Institute.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Anne Maeve Binchy Snell was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker. Her novels were characterised by a sympathetic and often humorous portrayal of small-town life in Ireland, and surprise endings. Her novels, which were translated into 37 languages, sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Her death at age 73, announced by Vincent Browne on Irish television late on 30 July 2012, was mourned as the death of one of Ireland's best-loved and most recognisable writers.
She appeared in the US market, featuring on The New York Times Best Seller list and in Oprah's Book Club. Recognised for her "total absence of malice" and generosity to other writers, she finished third in a 2000 poll for World Book Day, ahead of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Stephen King.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great idea to have a different author write each chapter.
However, it was crass, cheesy, predictable, had dislikeable characters & a 90s focus on what each person weighs.
I thoroughly enjoyed it 😆

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Cruise" was written by 14 authors and consists of 19 main characters. With all the authors attempting to include so many people in the story, it ends up lacking much needed detail and the murder mystery and romances are way too simplistic. A forgettable book, but an interesting project and it was created for a good cause.

[Sandra Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read a book with so many authors (14) each writing a chapter, considering that it is a murder mystery the story came together quite well, a very good read

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took this on holidays for a light read and really enjoyed it! It actually written by a bunch of authors - all did one chapter each! It was light and easy - but had mystery, drama, murder, humour and romance. A perfect holidays paperback.

[Susan Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lighthearted story of romance and murder aboard the Oriana, on a luxury Mediterranean cruise. Each chapter was written in aid of the Dyslexia Institute by different authors, Maeve Binchy, Joanna Trollope, Susan Howatch et al. Ken Follett wrote the last chapter to seamlessly bring it together.

[Annie McFox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, this book is written by multiple authors, each doing a chapter but it doesn't tell you who wrote which chapter.
The story was interesting and some of the characters were sympathetic others you would have happily stabbed. It moved easily from chapter to chapter and I would never have known it was written by different authors. An enjoyable holiday read :)

[Pip Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fun read. Most entertaining. The chapters are seamless - I certainly couldn’t guess the author of each, though it really intrigued me.

[Diane Hropic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved playing detective while reading this novel, and the subplots were all interesting.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 52 Book Club’s 2023 Reading Challenge | Prompt #21 - A Second-Hand Book

[Sally Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy and fun read…..like the concept of a cosy crime story on a ship and written by so many good authors!

[Angelo Mifsud · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story with a surprised turn of events, well written, and compiled by fourteen well known novelists. It is a novel of murder and romance, as stated on the cover and meets the reader's expectations. It is not too complicated with plenty of intrigue. Really enjoyed this read.