Do you long for a riverboat cruise?
Cruises…. It’s human nature: When we can’t have something, we want it. That’s even more understandable now. Many don’t consider riverboat cruises, though. They prefer to cruise on floating cities, eating and partying, take perilous tenders to shore for their tours, and then do it all over again as soon as they can. They might see some sights, visit crowded beaches, and see lush vegetation and some strange animals, but they’re basically locked up 90% of the time in a crowded college dorm within a big city, a dorm full of many rowdies (you’ll meet a lot of Trumpsters, I’m sure), seeing only wide expanses of ocean—nothing peaceful, educational, or enlightening about that.
Riverboat cruises are different, thank God. Instead of a floating city, you’re in a floating village where you have a chance to establish friendships with kindred souls desiring those peaceful, educational, and enlightening experiences “far from the madding crowd.” You do not feel like you’re in Times Square on New Year’s Eve either. You can relax on the top deck of your riverboat, or on the prow or formal lounge, while looking at wonderful vistas on the river’s shore along with quaint, old towns.
Is it any wonder that Esther Brookstone and Bastiann van Coevorden, principal characters in the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series, decide to spend their honeymoon on a riverboat? They choose to cruise the beautiful Danube from Vishofen, Germany to Budapest, Hungary. (Several pictures sprinkled around this post correspond to that trip.)
My new book, Death on the Danube, is the third book in that series. (You can watch a trailer here.) The title alone leads you right into the story: A mysterious stranger is killed, and Bastiann takes charge of the murder investigation. He’s an Interpol agent, and the Danube is international waters. Of course, his new bride, Esther, helps him.
They manage not to skimp on the romance, though. Their riverboat docks at various ports on the Danube, and on the shore tour buses await them, ready to take them on unforgettable side trips to venues full of history going back to times before Columbus. And, along with their fellow passengers, they still manage to feast and party. For the first, they taste dishes from the surrounding countryside, along with local wines; for the second, singers and dancers onboard or at tour sites immerse them in local culture.
I’ve mentioned that Bastiann is an Interpol agent. Esther has an interesting history too. During the Cold War, she was an MI6 spy in East Berlin. Later she became a Scotland Yard inspector working in the Art and Antiques division. Now she’s retired and has her own gallery in London. In the first two novels, Rembrandt’s Angel and Son of Thunder, she first becomes obsessed with recovering a Rembrandt stolen by the Nazis in World War II, and then in finding St. John’s tomb. In this new novel, she just wants to enjoy her honeymoon with Bastiann, but the murder investigation interrupts that.
Maybe you think I’m looking for a job writing ad copy for a riverboat cruise company? No, I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for riverboat cruises in the only way I know how. You can experience one of these wonderful cruises right from your armchair as you read my new novel. Esther and Bastiann will welcome you aboard! Fair warning, though: Esther or Bastiann might come around and interrogate you as a person of interest in the investigation. Good sailing!
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Comments are always welcome!
Death on the Danube. At the end of Son of Thunder, #2 in the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series, ex-MI6 agent and ex-Scotland Yard inspector Esther Brookstone and Interpol agent Bastiann van Coevorden finally say their I-do’s. At the beginning of this new novel, #3 in the series, they embark on their honeymoon cruise down the romantic Danube. When a strange passenger who is traveling alone is murdered, Bastiann takes over the investigation because the river was declared international waters in the Treaty of Paris. Who really is this gaunt victim? And who on the list of passengers and crewmembers is the assassin? Mystery, thrills, suspense, and romance await readers who join them in their journey. You can’t take this trip now because of COVID, but you can join them in spirit. Available in ebook and print format at Amazon, and in all ebook formats at Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo and Walmart, etc.) and affiliated library and lending services (Scribd, Overdrive, Baker & Taylor, Gardner, etc.). Click to see the book trailer.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
