The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret: A Mystery (Captain Jim and Lady Diana Mysteries, 3)

The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret is a terrific read. A beautifully written, deftly plotted novel, it will have even the most seasoned mystery fan baffled and bewildered throughout the telling, and at the end, left gasping as the why and the who are finally revealed. Not to be missed.

The story opens with the garroting of an older, foreign gentleman on a liner en route from New York to Liverpool. Captain Jim, a former soldier, is tasked with finding the killer. Doesn’t sound too difficult. After all, the murderer must be someone on the ship. Except: almost one thousand passengers and crew are on board; the victim turns out to be a Spanish envoy returning from a mission to the United States; the murder apparently took place in a locked stateroom; and the ship docks in six days.

The soldier turned detective soon discovers he must contend with a bewildering array of suspects, multiple motives stemming perhaps from some event in the past or perhaps the Spanish don’s assignment in New York, and a raft of clues that confuse as much as clarify. As time slips by, the mystery deepens; tensions rise; danger is in the air; and suddenly there are only three days left.