Review: Shore Excursion by: Marie Moore

Title: Shore Excursion
Author: Marie Moore
Publisher: Camel Press
Pages: 219
Format: Paperback
Source: Tribute Books Book Tour
Author Website: http://www.mariemooremysteries.com/

Shore Excursion Book Summary

Travel agents are a vanishing breed, but Sidney Marsh, a New York transplant from Mississippi, is holding her ground–at least on land. She is the tour leader on a cruise through Scandinavia for a group of eccentric senior citizens who call themselves the High Steppers. Sidney expects her days to be filled with long meals, shopping expeditions and visits to museums, churches and fjords. But this cruise is anything but routine. There is a killer on board, targeting the High Steppers and quite possibly herself.

After the first suspicious death, the captain and his crew are grimly determined to carry on as usual. Disgusted with their inaction, Sidney decides to take matters into her own hands and launch her own investigation. She enlists the halfhearted help of her friend and business partner, the flamboyant and fun-loving Jay Wilson. Suspects abound. What about those two handsome young men who stay mysteriously aloof? One of them has his eye on Sidney. So does another passenger, far too charming and again too young to fit the “High Stepper” mold. Then there’s Captain Vargos, the arrogant ladies’ man whose plans to thwart Sidney’s investigation might include seduction.

Who is that crew member shadowing Sidney? Is the theater really haunted? Even the High Steppers themselves are not as predictable or harmless as they seem. The closer Sydney gets to the truth, the less she understands. Shore Excursion is the first book in a new mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Sidney Marsh.

Marie Moore Bio:

Shore Excursion is Marie Moore’s first novel, but not her first writing experience, and like Sidney Marsh, she is a native Mississippian. She graduated from Ole Miss, married a lawyer in her hometown, taught junior high science, raised a family, and worked for a small weekly newspaper, first as a writer and later as Managing Editor. She wrote hard news, features and a weekly column, sold ads, did interviews, took photos, and won a couple of MS Press Association awards for some of her stories.

In 1985, Marie left the newspaper to open a retail travel agency. She completed agency and computer training with Airlines Reporting Corporation, Delta Airlines and TWA, earned her CTC (Certified Travel Counselor) designation, and joined the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), International Air Transport Association (IATA), and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). For the next 15 years, she managed her agency, sold travel, escorted group tours, sailed on 19 cruises, and visited over 60 countries. Much of the background of Shore Excursioncomes from that experience.

Marie also did location scouting and worked as the local contact for several feature films, including Heart of Dixie, The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag, and Robert Altman’s Cookie’s Fortune.

In mid-1999, because of her husband’s work, Marie sold the travel agency and moved to Jackson, MS, then New York City, Anna Maria Island, FL, and Arlington, VA. She and her husband now live in Memphis, TN and Holly Springs, MS.

Marie is a member of Sisters in Crime.

Paperback

Price: $13.95

ISBN: 9781603818742

Pages: 230

Release: April 1, 2012

Amazon pre-order buy link 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/160381874X?tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes&Noble.com pre-order buy link

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My Thoughts:

This book rocks, it’s full of mystery when High Steppers begin to die mysteriously and the ships Captain keeps trying to cover it up.  It’s up Sidney to find out what is going on.  It involves a mysterious red bag, people who aren’t who they claim to be and High Steppers getting in the way.  This book was fabulous I loved how every time Sidney tried to figure it out another clue was thrown out there.  Like the mysterious homeless man in NY who winds up on one of the Shore Excursions. How the Doctor on the ship knows one family way to well.  And then there is Sidney getting threatened to back off.  Sidney is not one to take a back seat to funny business going on and she cares too much for the High Steppers to sit back and do nothing!