Reviewed by Harriet
Here on Shiny we love Laura Lippman and have posted reviews of five of her novels. All but one were standalone psychological thrillers, but Hush Hush (2015) features her series detective Tess Monaghan. I have never read any of the series, but people who have will recognise the central character of Murder Takes a Vacation. She is Mrs Muriel Blossom, a widow in her late sixties, who worked for Tess as a private investigator. But this highly enjoyable novel is far from being a spin-off, as it can only be described as cosy crime, a genre Lippman has not ventured into before.
Here we have Muriel treating herself to an adventure. She’s had a huge lottery win (through rather questionable but not illegal means), and has decided to go to Paris, where she and a friend will join a cruise on the Seine. Her flight involves a connection at Heathrow, which she misses, but Allan Turner, a charming middle-aged man she met on the plane, offers to let her stay in his suite in a luxurious hotel, and pays for her to take the Eurostar next day. He behaves like a perfect gentleman, though his insistence in sitting up next to her bed while she sleeps does seem a bit odd, to say the least. But Muriel is grateful and trusting, having been very nervous of travelling alone for the first time. On the train she notices an attractive younger man who seems to be watching her rather closely, and to her surprise she runs across him in a restaurant soon after her arrival in Paris. Danny Johnson is kindness itself, telling her he’s a stylist and taking her to an atelier in the Marais district where she get’s kitted out in beautiful, fashionable clothes that prove to be perfect for her rather large figure.
But strange things start happening. She learns that Allan has died in a fall from his hotel balcony. A man purporting to be the hotel bellman knocks on her door and asks her to put her luggage outside her door so that it can be transferred to her cruise ship overnight, which she firmly refuses to do. She returns from an evening dinner to find that her room has been thoroughly searched, though nothing is missing. Then Danny turns up on the cruise. Muriel knows that something is up, but she can’t work out what’s going on. Who can she trust? She’s already become extremely wary since her acquisition of millions, and, nice though Danny is, suspects him not only of ulterior motives but also of criminal intent, especially when the disappearance of a priceless artefact seems to be connected with all the confusing goings on. Her experience working for Tess has made her relatively unflappable, and she’s used to following up clues, but there are almost too many and some seem to cancel each other out.
Muriel Blossom is a finely observed character: self-conscious about her age and her appearance, flattered by the attention of attractive men but suspicious of their motives. She’s far from stupid, even though she has some problems with technology. She’s appalled when she realises she’s suspected of being in possession of the missing artefact: ‘I think I would know if I had a statue in my suitcase!’ She eventually finds herself in serious danger, but of course she’s a survivor and she survives.
It was fun following Muriel as she struggles to make sense of things. In fact most people will get to at least part of the crucial explanation before she does, but that only makes you wonder when the penny will drop. Of course it all falls into place in a very satisfactory way. A great read.
Harriet is a co-founder and one of the editors of Shiny.
Laura Lippman, Murder Takes a Vacation (Faber & Faber, 2025). 978-0571394623, 272pp., paperback original.
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