A murder mystery you can sink your ship into.Esper has a rendezvous with a mysterious contact aboard an undersea luxury cruise ship, an exclusive submarine hotel for a cozy five-day getaway. She’s going to get all the intel she needs to cut off the head of the Cult of Ra—at least that’s the plan.When she first meets her contact, it’s at the scene of his murder.Then someone sinks the cruise ship, … murder.
Then someone sinks the cruise ship, trapping Esper and the other passengers with the killer.
Now, Esper has to discover the killer’s identity, recover any stolen intel the victim might have had on him, and keep the other passengers alive. Because it’s a luxury liner, help from the mainland is on the way. Rich people don’t stay in trouble long, so Esper has to act fast, otherwise, her best chance to put an end to the Cult of Ra just might sink along with the ship.
Hotel Caledonia is the seventh mission of Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire. It follows the exploits of a pair of do-gooder bounty hunters who care more about saving the day than getting a payday. Mercy for Hire builds on the rich Black Ocean universe and introduces a colorful cast for new and returning listeners alike. Fans of vigilante justice and heroes who exemplify the word will love this series.
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**** SPOILER ALERT ****
In “Hotel Caledonia ( Black Ocean ): Mercy For Hire Mission 7” Morin does a fantastic job of blending an updated version of the classic closed environment WhoDunIt with the magical and Science fiction elements of the “Black Ocean” “Universe” while still doing a very, very great job of worldbuilding and character development.
The author did an excellent job of writing a closed environment murder mystery. I couldn’t tell until the actual reveal who the murderer was. I recommend this entertaining page turner and I can hardly wait to devour the next mission in the series.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.
Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire is such a great series, and this book is one more excellent adventure for Esper – not so much for Tiffany, Wesley Wesley and Kubu. Esper leaves the three behind to wait and hopefully stay out of trouble, while she goes on an undersea trip on a luxury cruise ship to meet with a contact who will supply her with information she can use to take down the Cult of Ra. It seems pretty simple, but what with a person impersonating her on board, and one murder after another, and then Esper becoming trapped undersea when the ship sinks, things get more and more complicated. Of course Tiffany, Kubu and Wesley have their role to play, and it’s a good thing they don’t always listen to Esper’s instructions because they’re great partners when she needs help. Once this adventure was wrapped up, the group goes on to the next mission to put a stop to the Cult of Ra and I’m jumping right in to that book next.
Don’t you just love it when a favorite author comes out with a new story in a series you’ve been having a blast reading? I certainly do and that’s certainly the case with J.S. Morin and Hotel Caledonia, which is “Mission 7” in his astoundingly fantastic sci-fi space opera / magic / adventure Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire series. I’ve been fan-girling over the star of this series, Esper, and her (well sorta) loyal megalodog Kubu, since the first book in this series and the stories (and characters: can’t leave out a plug for Tiffany and Wesly here) that followed – most definitely including this book – have never disappointed me. Just the opposite, they’ve been consistently wonderful and the whole “being down the Cult of Ra” story arc is a gas. Bottom line here is that fans of this series can rejoice in another great tale that will meet their expectations and desires. Newcomers can (sorta) read this book as a standalone but I really recommend starting with the series’ wonderful first book. (Other stories / series set in the author’s Black Ocean universe are also fantastic but they do not need to be read before this series which definitely stands on its own.) But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.