Death on the Aegean Queen

Dotsy Lamb #3

by Maria Hudgins

George Gaskill, a car salesman from Indiana, goes missing from the stern deck of the Aegean Queen leaving only a pool of blood and a strange note behind. Ollie Osgood, the husband of Dotsy Lamb's best friend Lettie, is the last person to have seen him and one of three men who lost a bundle to George in a Texas Hold'em Poker game. Then the ship's photographer turns up murdered on the beautiful island of Mykonos.
Dotsy wants only to unwind and to renew her promising relationship with Marco Quattrocchi, the Carabinieri captain she met in Italy three years ago, but since Ollie is the prime suspect in George's disappearance and Marco is embroiled in the photographer's murder, she can't.
The Aegean Queen is a ship with a theme--archaeology. Dotsy strikes up a friendship with the ship's guest lecturer, famous archaeologist, Dr. Luc Girard, and introduces him to the ship's klutziest dancer, Sophie Antonakos. With the help of Lettie Osgood's amazing powers of observation, Dotsy, Sophie, and Luc discover antiquities in the ship's display cases that have been looted from museums or smuggled from their homelands.
The trails of murder and theft converge on the island of Crete where Dotsy finds herself dodging bullets from the gun of a man she doesn't even know.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Travel, Cozy, Ebooks, Adventure, Suspense

274 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Maria is an avid traveler and mystery lover. She is a retired teacher living in Hampton, Virginia. She started writing fiction when she retired six years ago and now has two books in print.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death on the Aegean Queen (Maria Hudgins)
Mystery/Murder. Classic who-done-it. Dotsy Lamb sets out on a cruise to Greece. Soon a man ends up over board, leaving nothing but a trail of blood. Dotsy sets out to solve this caper. While investigating, the ships photographer ends up dead as well. Panic is abound on the ship, Dotsy is determined to get to the truth. Secrets, lies, and hidden truths abound in this page turning, fast, fun read. I will look at more work from Maria Hudgins.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUMMARY: George Gaskill, a car salesman from Indiana, goes missing from the stern deck of the Aegean Queen leaving only a pool of blood and a strange note behind. Ollie Osgood, the husband of Dotsy Lamb's best friend Lettie, is the last person to have seen him and one of three men who lost a bundle to George in a Texas Hold'em Poker game. Then the ship's photographer turns up murdered on the beautiful island of Mykonos.
Dotsy wants only to unwind and to renew her promising relationship with Marco Quattrocchi, the Carabinieri captain she met in Italy three years ago, but since Ollie is the prime suspect in George's disappearance and Marco is embroiled in the photographer's murder, she can't.
The Aegean Queen is a ship with a theme--archaeology. Dotsy strikes up a friendship with the ship's guest lecturer, famous archaeologist, Dr. Luc Girard, and introduces him to the ship's klutziest dancer, Sophie Antonakos. With the help of Lettie Osgood's amazing powers of observation, Dotsy, Sophie, and Luc discover antiquities in the ship's display cases that have been looted from museums or smuggled from their homelands.
The trails of murder and theft converge on the island of Crete where Dotsy finds herself dodging bullets from the gun of a man she doesn't even know

REVIEW: Written much in the vein of Agatha Christie or Murder She Wrote, the mystery contains fantastic settings, interesting characters, and a good mystery plot. Dotsy Lamb defnitely reminds me of the Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher type character. The additional characters rounded out the cast with lots of different types of personalities. I enjoyed the happenings on the ship and didn't really figure out "who done it" until almost the end. The twists and turns definitely keep the reader's interest.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never expected to love this book .... but ... I did! Karen Krause was a perfect choice for narrator. A mix of Agatha and Fletcher very enjoyable.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this one as an Amazon Prime free loan, and honestly, kinda glad I didn't pay for it. Mystery angle was okay; it's a cozy, so I wasn't expecting profound. Here's the point that drive me nuts: much is made of Dotsy's diabetes, yet she had four ouzos one night! Leads me to wonder whether the author is familiar with the disease at all, but decided to make her protagonist one as a "hook"?

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 stars for the story, which was pretty entertaining. 5 stars for the audiobook performance.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot going on here. A fair bit of information comes from staring into or listening at portholes. I'm not sure if the murder/conspiracy plot actually works out. Dotsy spends a fair bit of time worrying about her new beau in relation to the trauma of her divorce, which is fine, but maybe not as another plot in an already stuffed narrative. Also, is Dotsy a name? The fact that it is very close to ditzy helps to explain her hare brained ideas of solving crime. Cruise ship mysteries are usually a good bet, the closed environment, the forced community and the grotesques that populate them are generally a good fit. There is some evidence of this here, but overall the addition of the secondary crime plot, and the middle aged woman rediscovering her sexuality plot, mean that that all falls by the wayside. I will agree that the descriptions of the various islands that are visited suggest knowledge of the subject. I think I'd enjoy a travelogue written by this author, but maybe not this book. Really a 2.5.

[Allison Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series, though I can't say I'm crazy about Dotsy's love interest. But I like the mystery, I like the side characters, I like the settings and I like the MC. She's a smart woman who has unfortunately been written to occasionally think she is smarter than the police. But usually the "dumb cops" redeem themselves by the end, while also admitting her brilliance. Just that tiny quibble, but basically an enjoyable read.

[Celest · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally enjoy mysteries but this one kind of sank for me. Honestly I can't articulate why. The characters were fine and it was fun to think of people solving crimes on a cruise ship but I just couldn't connect with the story.

[Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Dotsy seeing Marco again; dear Lettie with the photographic memory, and Lettie's husband Ollie. A mysterious death onboard ship and smuggling round it out. I liked the descriptions of the locale and of ancient artifacts. Good read.

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am hooked on this series. The travel aspect is great and Doty Lamb and her friends are so funny and likable.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh

[Alex Fandrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and easy little mystery lent to me by one of my favorite patients

[Bookmuseuk]

Dotsy Lamb is a lovable crime fighter in the style of Miss Marple or Agatha Raisin – but with a sharp eye and a Tennessee drawl that leaves her compatriots in the shade. This was the first novel I’d read by this author, and have to say I found it a pleasant experience.

There are no high emotions in this genre, but there are a satisfying amount of twists and turns by a bunch of interesting, in-depth characters that kept me gripped until the final chapters. The death of car salesman, George Gaskill, who disappears leaving only a pool of blood and a cryptic note, is the start of Dotsy Lamb's adventures. As a personal bonus for me, the descriptions of the stunning locations added another layer of interest to the writing, and I particularly loved the scenes set on the island of Santorini.

Cruise liner, the Aegean Queen is the setting for a double murder, or so it seems. A cast of slightly dodgy characters with more skeletons in their closets than a medieval churchyard, the story weaves around missing antiquities and revenge for past sins.

I found the ending really worked, and every box was ticked to give a satisfactory conclusion. This book is probably not for you if you like high-action and gore, or dark and complex, and although I shudder at the over-used term of ‘cosy crime’ there is a comfortable feel here that carried me though the novel in the author’s capable hands.

[P Karr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death on the Aegean Queen is the third installment in the Dotsy Lamb travel mysteries. I first introduced Dotsy in Death of a Geek which was set in the Scottish Highlands. Death on the Aegean Queen is set on a cruise ship that is touring the Aegean and Greek islands. Although there is an abundance of people, the setting could be called remote, or removed from the mainland.

Dotsy, accompanied by friend Lettie and her husband Ollie, is about to leave on a cruise of the Greek islands. She looks forward to meeting Marco Quattrocchi, the Italian Carbinieri captain she had met a few years ago. Everyone is excited about the ship’s departure, and Letti and Dotsy are eagerly looking out for Marco’s arrival.

Read the full review at
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[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started I was so excited that I found a new mrs. P., but it just didn't work for me. I loved the setting, but never connected with Dotsy, the heroine. Not sure why, she was likeable, and has quirks. The mystery seemed to drag along. Having the two missing mysteries running was fun. but I disliked the end, with the bracelet and Lettie. Never did like the "best friend" Lettie and her husband George. they did not see to act that way, going their won way.
Just okay read, found it slow at times.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dotsy, Lettie and her husband are on a Greek cruise ship. And Marco--part of the Italian carbinari that they met in Italy is joining them. At their dinner table, they meet a couple from America then later that night, the husband is missing and blood is found on the deck. They along with an FBI agent and a local cop, try to figure out what happened as well with a murder of the ship's photographer and some smuggling of valuable artifacts. There were some twists and turns and some surprises. Good writing.

[Ruth Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a typical series mystery. It's nothing to write home about but it is a pleasant read. I have read a lot of this type of genre writing, so it's got to be really unusual for me to get excited about it. There were some typos/proofreading errors but not as many as there are in most of the e-books I've been reading lately. I don't like cutesy names and "Dotsy" for the heroine's name is pretty icky.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have now read all three of the Dotsy Lamb travel mysteries. As before, these are enjoyable reads, cozy so to say. I just have a problem with a teacher being the only one who could figure out the problems. It made the authorities look quite incapable of figuring things out. But it is a quirky mystery, and enjoyable!

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice cozy mystery with good descriptions of both Greece and cruising. The audio book narrator really elevated this book from a 3 to a 4 star. She was entertaining and it was easy to keep the characters straight even during busy LA traffic.

I was given a copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery by Hudgins is a nice, comfortable read. It is one of a series so those who enjoy this book can enjoy others by the same author. I would read another book by this author myself because it was interesting and the characters were sketched out well.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesey's Wars" and "To Whom It May Concern"

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun mystery with an added bonus of a trip through the Greek islands. … Dotsy Lamb, a community college history teacher (specializes in ancient and medieval history) is cruising the Greek islands with friends. A fellow passenger is killed and thrown overboard – messy blood on the deck! Is the murderer one of the passengers or the crew –or ??? Other strange things begin happening.

[Trudy Nye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this mystery, but I felt the characters needed a bit more depth (and perhaps fewer characters would be a step in the right direction). Furthermore, it's rather hard to take a protagonist with the name Dotsy very seriously. All-in-all, though, it was a nice, light read.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll definitely read more of these -- fun travel mystery!

[Terrisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

very Agatha Christie like

[Lyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.5. Well written traditional mystery in the vein of Miss Marple.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great for a light but enjoyable read.

[Paige Pell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, easy read. Makes me want to visit Greece!

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Maria Hudgins' Dotsy Lamb travel mysteries. I feel like I'm actually traveling along with the heroine. can't wait to start on book 4!

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

An average mystery. Great setting.
Free at ALA.

[Lenore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, coherent, well written, quick, easy read.