Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining, splendid little mystery...
Review: Attracted by the cover and the setting of one of the great passenger ships of yesteryear, this was my first Conrad Allen mystery. It's a pleasure to report that the book fulfilled my hopes for a diversionary, well-written and entertaining mystery. The protagonist, American George Dillman, operating as an undercover detective on the Lusitania for the Cunard Line, is a sophisticated, cool and interesting customer. Faced with a murder and the disappearance of ship's blueprints, Dillan does as good a job keeping everyone in the dark as to whom he really is as the villain does in hiding his identity. The individual portraits he paints of the cast of characters make up a varied group of distinct types of human beings, one of whom is an extremely obnoxious journalist. (As a lawyer, I enjoyed that.) The ship-board atmosphere, with its references to the turn-of-the-century British/German rivalry for supremacy on the high seas, is well-drawn--one certainly feels at times that that the good old days of travel are really gone. (After all, there's little opportunity on a jet plane for the leisure, luxury and romance of the sort possible on the great old ocean liners.) And, I particularly enjoyed his portrayals of the available young women on board and the cat & mouse games played between the sexes--Allen creates images in your mind of some very attractive and appealing young ladies, so much so that I found myself wishing I were a bachelor again and could be there to join in the pursuit.Best of all, the ending wasn't a disappointment. A most pleasant read--next I'll try "Murder on the Mauritania".
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining, splendid little mystery...
Review: Attracted by the cover and the setting of one of the great passenger ships of yesteryear, this was my first Conrad Allen mystery. It's a pleasure to report that the book fulfilled my hopes for a diversionary, well-written and entertaining mystery. The protagonist, American George Dillman, operating as an undercover detective on the Lusitania for the Cunard Line, is a sophisticated, cool and interesting customer. Faced with a murder and the disappearance of ship's blueprints, Dillan does as good a job keeping everyone in the dark as to whom he really is as the villain does in hiding his identity. The individual portraits he paints of the cast of characters make up a varied group of distinct types of human beings, one of whom is an extremely obnoxious journalist. (As a lawyer, I enjoyed that.) The ship-board atmosphere, with its references to the turn-of-the-century British/German rivalry for supremacy on the high seas, is well-drawn--one certainly feels at times that that the good old days of travel are really gone. (After all, there's little opportunity on a jet plane for the leisure, luxury and romance of the sort possible on the great old ocean liners.) And, I particularly enjoyed his portrayals of the available young women on board and the cat & mouse games played between the sexes--Allen creates images in your mind of some very attractive and appealing young ladies, so much so that I found myself wishing I were a bachelor again and could be there to join in the pursuit. Best of all, the ending wasn't a disappointment. A most pleasant read--next I'll try "Murder on the Mauritania".
Rating: 
Summary: Just barely misses the mark..
Review: Conrad Allen's first book of the George Porter Dillman series, is an OK historical mystery. It's set in 1907 on the maiden voyage of the Lusitiana, the pride of the Cunard Line. There is some international intrigue abroad, as Germany moves closer to war with Great Britain, and then there is our hero, George P. Dillman, an American private detective that is undercover. On baord, he mets Violet Rymer, who is under the thumb of her overbearing, control-freak father, and he meets the mysterious Genevieve Mansfield, who is running from her shady past. Allen manages to disappoint us with Violet's would-be suitor, and we don't really ever get to really understand a few of the characters. That, and the uber-obnoxious Barcroft character really turned me off of what could have been a great read.
Rating:
Summary: If only Agatha Christie had written this....
Review: I normally love this type of book. It had a good plot line and characters, with nice twists and turns, but somehow became a chore to read. The writer's style just seemed to drone on...like a monotonous lecturer. I almost closed it after the first 30 pages or so...but persisted. I guess I'm glad that I did.....but a different writer might have held my attention better.
Rating:
Summary: If only Agatha Christie had written this....
Review: I normally love this type of book. It had a good plot line and characters, with nice twists and turns, but somehow became a chore to read. The writer's style just seemed to drone on...like a monotonous lecturer. I almost closed it after the first 30 pages or so...but persisted. I guess I'm glad that I did.....but a different writer might have held my attention better.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic murder mystery
Review: If you are a murder-mystery fan, it does not get any better than "Murder on the Lusitania." The atmosphere, characters, plot, denouement are all just perfect. Supposedly the author has written other mysteries under a pseudonym. Does anyone know the name of his other mysteries? I would read them all. Usually I have figured out the plot about half way through a mystery. I'm not unique. Most readers of mysteries can do the same. But this time I was wonderully misdirected. As the pace picked up about half way through, I found myself enjoying the tale immensely and hoping beyond hope that the writer wasn't going to screw up the ending. He didn't. Thank you, Mr. Allen. And Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Classic murder mystery
Review: If you are a murder-mystery fan, it does not get any better than "Murder on the Lusitania." The atmosphere, characters, plot, denouement are all just perfect. Supposedly the author has written other mysteries under a pseudonym. Does anyone know the name of his other mysteries? I would read them all. Usually I have figured out the plot about half way through a mystery. I'm not unique. Most readers of mysteries can do the same. But this time I was wonderully misdirected. As the pace picked up about half way through, I found myself enjoying the tale immensely and hoping beyond hope that the writer wasn't going to screw up the ending. He didn't. Thank you, Mr. Allen. And Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Veddy Briddish
Review: It's 1907 and the 1st sailing of the Lucy. It is nice to read a new book that is not filled with vulgarities. The author has the period down pat and fortunately there is a second book out and a third in the works. Sit back in a deck chair on the Boat Deck, wrap yourself in a wooly blanket and enjoy the trip..
It is nice to read something set in the period prior to the War to End all Wars. HAH!
Rating:
Summary: Veddy Briddish
Review: It's 1907 and the 1st sailing of the Lucy. It is nice to read a new book that is not filled with vulgarities. The author has the period down pat and fortunately there is a second book out and a third in the works. Sit back in a deck chair on the Boat Deck, wrap yourself in a wooly blanket and enjoy the trip..
It is nice to read something set in the period prior to the War to End all Wars. HAH!
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant summer reading
Review: Mr. Allen has presented us with a straightfor ward little mystery aboard one of the most famous liners in history. Readers may be tricked into thinking that this little tale occurs on the fateful voyage on which it was torpedoed, rather than on its first voyage, but its inaugural voyage was just as ballyhooed as a certain other ship we all know. The protagonist, George Dillman is a rather interesting character,whose actual identity and background are slowly introduced throughout the story. Allen has obviously done his homework regarding the famous liner, and he creates characters with just enough foibles to make them interesting, but the mystery appears to plod on somewhat. One may wish at times to get off, rather than to continue on this voyage. The climax is not the most exciting, but enjoy able nonetheless. One could wish for something memorable, whether in the language or the action, that one could take take away as a souvenir of this trip. Alas, all is but sea foam.
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