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Read more about the article Best Friends, Worst Cruising Luck: The Unbreakable Bond Between Rachel Prince and Sarah Bradshaw

Best Friends, Worst Cruising Luck: The Unbreakable Bond Between Rachel Prince and Sarah Bradshaw

There is a particular kind of friendship that only fiction can fully honour. It's the kind that goes beyond shared history and mutual affection into something rarer and more resilient. The kind that survives secrets, arguments, disasters, and the occasional dead body turning up at extremely inconvenient moments! Rachel Prince and Sarah Bradshaw have that kind of friendship. Over fifteen books, and counting, the bond between Rachel Prince and the Coral Queen's ship's nurse has been one of the great pleasures of this series. It is not the flashy centrepiece of the story, overshadowed as it sometimes is by murders, mysteries, and the complicated business of Rachel's love life. But it is the emotional backbone of every book, and nowhere is that more evident than in Honeymoon Cruise Murder, where both women arrive at the start of the voyage carrying something they haven't yet been able to share with each other. The Chief Bridesmaid The book opens with Rachel's wedding, and Sarah is right at the heart of it; first among the bridesmaids, as she should be. The two women grew up in the same village, have been best friends forever, and their parents are friends. Sarah has been part of the fabric of Rachel's life in a way that goes far deeper than circumstance. When Rachel finally walks back down the aisle as Mrs Jacobi-Prince, Sarah is just behind her, exactly where she belongs. But even in the joy of the day, Rachel notices that something is off. Sarah has been different over the past week: more distant, quieter than usual, and carrying a weight she hasn't shared. The two friends have barely had a moment alone together in the run-up to the wedding, always surrounded by family and preparations and the relentless logistics of a big day. Rachel files the observation…

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Read more about the article Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Someone Dead: The Most Eventful Honeymoon in Fiction

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Someone Dead: The Most Eventful Honeymoon in Fiction

Every bride deserves a perfect wedding day. The dress, the flowers, the first dance, the champagne — and then, at last, the honeymoon. Two weeks of uninterrupted bliss with the person you love. No work, no complications, no dead bodies. If you happen to be Rachel Prince, however, the universe has other ideas. Honeymoon Cruise Murder is book seven in the Rachel Prince series, and it opens with everything a romantic at heart could wish for. Rachel finally marries her long-suffering fiancé Carlos Jacobi in a beautiful church ceremony in her home village, officiated by her own father, the Reverend Brendan Prince. The dress is breathtaking — ivory taffeta with a sweetheart neckline, silver sparkles, and a rose-patterned tulle overlay — and the church is full of people who love her. After months of uncertainty, cold feet, and the kind of pre-wedding jitters that would test the patience of a saint, Rachel has finally made it to the altar. The happiness practically radiates off the page. And then, as the confetti is still settling, the complications begin. That is the particular genius of the Rachel Prince cruise ship mystery series: the warmth is always genuine, but trouble is never far behind. This book manages something rather clever — it gives us all the romantic satisfaction of a wedding before systematically dismantling the peaceful honeymoon that was supposed to follow. By the time Rachel and Carlos board the Coral Queen bound for the Mediterranean, the seeds of several thorny problems have already been sown. An Uninvited Guest Even at the wedding reception, Rachel's radar is twitching. An unwelcome face from the past appears among the guests — a man she barely remembers, full of charm and self-importance, who drops a cryptic hint that he has something important to tell her. Something, he implies, that involves…

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The Leicester Location that Inspired The Clock Tower Murders

Leicester’s Clock Tower is one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks, and having grown up in the city it was where I agreed – like many before me – to meet my first boyfriend! The tower has stood at the heart of Leicester for more than 150 years and is located at a busy junction pointing to all four points of a compass (noted by Carlos in the upcoming book): Gallowtree Gate (S), Haymarket/Belgrave Gate (N), Church Gate (E) and High Street (W). The Clock Tower was erected in 1868 to commemorate four decades of local improvement and to honour Simon de Montfort, the 13th-century Earl of Leicester. De Montfort is celebrated for his role in establishing one of the earliest forms of representative parliament in England in 1265, an event that secured Leicester’s place in national political history. Designed by architect Joseph Hansom who is also famous for inventing the Hansom cab, the Clock Tower is built from granite and limestone and rises to a height of around 15 metres (49 feet). Its Gothic Revival style was typical of the Victorian era, combining medieval inspiration with modern craftsmanship. Four statues are set into the tower, representing Simon de Montfort and three other philanthropists: William of Wykeham, Hugh Latimer, and John Wycliffe. These figures were chosen to reflect themes of political reform, religious thought, and moral courage.When first constructed, the Clock Tower stood at the centre of a bustling open marketplace. Over time, as Leicester expanded rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, the surrounding area became increasingly commercialised. The tower remained a fixed point amid changing streets, shops, and transport routes, serving as a meeting place and a symbol of continuity.Throughout its history, the Clock Tower has required careful maintenance. The clock mechanism has been repaired and updated several times, and restoration work has ensured that the stonework and statues…

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Into the Eye of the Storm: exploring the world of ‘Cruise into Darkness’

by Dawn Brookes Introduction Cruise into Darkness plunges readers straight into the heart of a savage midnight storm aboard the luxury Coral Queen cruise ship. With deafening thunder and towering waves battering its hull, the vessel is thrown into chaos as a sudden blackout leaves it sailing blind. Security Chief Rachel Jacobi-Prince and senior nurse Sarah Bradshaw emerge as steadfast sentinels amid flickering lights and mounting panic. As power returns only to reveal a gruesome discovery in the laundry conveyors, what begins as a fight against the elements quickly transforms into a high-stakes investigation under the cover of darkness. In this post, we'll sail into the Coral Queen's storm-tossed corridors to meet the key players: Rachel, Sarah, Jason Goodridge, and Captain Peter Jenson. We'll explore the isolated maritime world that sets the stage for Dawn Brookes's taut murder mystery. Into the Storm: a ship adrift In the first pages I've painted the unflinching portrait of the Coaral Queen under siege. A tempest of wind and rain batters the ship, tossing it like a toy on the ocean's wrathful surface. In the dead of night, the power surges and dies, plunging corridors into inky blackness. Seasick passengers clutch walls and even seasoned crew members exchange panicked glances. The blackout feels like the force of nature rather than the opening chord of a sinister orchestration. As the vessel lists and creaks, you sense that every dark hallway and maintenance tunnel holds a secret waiting to surface. Rachel Jacobi-Prince: security chief on the front line Rachel Jacobi-Prince is the newly appointed indomitable security chief. Thrown from her bed by a violent wave, she refuses medical aid for a gash above her temple and glues it together herself. When power returns only to reveal a uniformed woman's body on the laundry conveyor belt, Rachel takes…

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Travel Journal Asia 1982 Day 8

Wednesday June 23rd 1982 Our last day in Singapore. Sad to leave in so many ways, but we're excited to be starting the next leg of our journey. We realise that we have lived a life of luxury for the past 7 days that won't continue! After saying our goodbyes to Suzie and her friends, we were amazed and delighted when, at the last minute, she and her cousin Bernie told us they have decided to join us in Malaysia. They'll get the bus tomorrow evening and we'll meet them on Friday morning. We boarded the bus to take us to Butterworth and it left at 7pm. We were concerned it might not have air conditioning – quite the opposite!

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Travel Journal from 1982

Forty years ago today, I embarked on the trip of a lifetime. A friend and I set off for Asia and visited eight countries over three months. This is extract from the journal I kept is from day one. I'm keeping it pretty much as I wrote it, so not making too many corrections. Day 1: June 16th 1982 Weather Forecast for the day Source: https://weatherspark.com/h/m/147876/1982/6/Historical-Weather-in-June-1982-at-London-Heathrow-Airport-United-Kingdom#Figures-Temperature The weather forecast was correct; a dull and drizzly day when we left. Well, today's the big day. Woke up at 9:30am following a wonderful sleep. Who knows whether we'll sleep tonight, perhaps not! We have slight hassles at the moment, our reliable travel agent, alias Mr Messy hasn't quite sorted out our insurance correctly, we haven't got the premium in other words – so it's 12 midday and we're off to Regent St to collect it. It's all part of what's going to be a totally disorganised holiday for two in Asia. Perhaps we should have gone for two weeks to Bognor Regis! Poor old J is having ladies problems at the moment! Went to travel agent and sorted out insurance (sigh!). Also gained his father's address in Delhi. One more for the road. We contacted the agent's father when in Delhi a few months later and were invited for dinner. I'll cover this in a future post. Arrived at Heathrow at 1:30pm and checked in. Having a quiet time preparing ourselves for the flight. 3:30pm passed through customs. J was searched on her way through by a lady who was rather sour faced and she became even more unhappy when I laughed at the prospect of J being towed away before we even set off! We're now sitting in the boarding lounge waiting to board a rather ferocious looking aeroplane which has its…

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