She’s over fifty, overweight, and in way over her head!It’s well known that working in movies can be cutthroat, but no one expected that to be taken literally. It’s party time on board the Aurelia! On the LA to Hawaii leg, a Hollywood film crew are shooting scenes for a new action movie and Barbie has been given a bit-part role. It’s all great fun and Patricia isn’t surprised when her cute, … surprised when her cute, blonde friend attracts the attention of the handsome A-lister male lead.
But when he is found murdered in the upper deck pool and the killer leaves a message saying Barbie is next, it falls to Patricia to work out who the killer is.
With her trusted butler, Jermaine, good friend, Barbie, and lame-duck Shane Sussmann, an odd-looking film extra she befriended, Patricia will have plenty of help as she unravels the truth. The prime suspect has an ironclad alibi though and there is definitely something going on with the film’s beautiful female lead.
Will there be more bodies? Will the new deputy captain be of assistance this time? Will Jermaine be able to serve tea at four o’clock?
It’s going to take more than luck to solve this one. Can she survive The Director’s Cut?
Praise for Steve Higgs:
‘Be prepared to struggle with getting anything else done, as you will want to keep reading.’
‘Truly delightful tales of mystery and misadventure.’
‘Higgs is a wonderful author with great character development which includes an enticing cast of misfits.’
‘A great crime comedy with a group of zany characters. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one. Highly recommended!’
‘Higgs makes everything and everyone come alive.’
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Patricia Fisher is off on another cruise on the Aurelia. Her friend, Barbie, has a role in an action movie being filmed on the ship. Barbie is highly attractive, so it’s no surprise when the leading man takes an interest. What is a shock is when he’s discovered dead and a note threatening Barbie is found. What’s Patricia to do? With bodyguards set to protect Barbie, Patricia gets to work to find the killer.
As always, uproarious events ensue in this third book in the Patricia Fisher mystery series. It’s filled with surprises. As with the others in this series, it’s easily read as a stand-alone book. It has enough twists and turns to keep you involved, interested, and laughing out loud.
I received a free copy of this book from the author through Audible. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
The Director’s Cut (Patricia Fisher Mystery Cruise Mysteries #3), my third read/listen from author Steve Higgs. Well written & enjoyable. Narrator Katherine Anderson’s added to the book’s listening enjoyment. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
This is the third book in the A Patricia Fisher Mystery. This is a fun cozy murder mystery. I liked to follow Patricia’s sleuthing! She is a wonderful character! No dull moments with her! The mystery unfolds at a great pace, and is filled with action, and twists and turns. The cast of supporting characters is impressive. This is a great addition to the Series. Katherine Anderson did a great job with the narration. I enjoyed it. I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
After the Aurelia docks in Los Angeles Patricia has to say goodbye to her friend Lady Mary..
There are a group of actors and all of the people it takes to make a movie coming aboard at this stop. The star is Tarquinius Trebeck. Barbie, one of the gym in structures and a friend of Patricia is picked for a small role by Tarquinius himself when the orgininal actress breaks her ankle.
At dinner Ian Kenyon, the film’s producer makes a rude remark about Barbie which results I Tarquinius exacting a humorous revenge.
So when Tarquinius Trebeck is found floating in the pool with a cut throat. Ian goes to the top of several peoples list including Patricia’s. But the Deputy Captain and the Security Head both clear Ian saying he has an iron clad alibi. Then Barbie’s locker is booby trapped and if she had been in front of it when she opened it, rather than more to the side the knife that stuck in the wall across from her locker would have struck her in the chest
Barbie moves into Patricia’s suite along with two of the ships Security. Of course many more things happen and the action doesn’t stop until the end but I do not want to give away any spoilers. Steve Higgs makes his Patricia Fisher books so much fun, I will continue to read.
verbal-humor, situational-humor, amateur-sleuth, cruise-ship, murder-investigation
As always, this Mrs Fisher book is a real laugh riot as well as an interesting murder mystery. Patricia Fisher is over fifty, built like a dumpling, a good friend, and has been granted a whole year on the high class cruise ship because of previous successful sleuthing. In this episode a film crew is at the center of madness and mayhem and a member of the ship’s crew is targeted for murder. Good fun and good sleuthing! Loved it!
Katherine Anderson does a marvelous job as narrator.
This review is for the audio book.
This was a fun listen and I really enjoyed the story. I like the main character but with all the snooping and antics she gets herself involved in, like wearing a skimpy maids uniform, I have a hard time picturing her being over fifty. Other than that I liked the plot for the story and had worked out who the killer was only for the author to throw in a twist that made me think again. I will be looking out for the next book in the series.
A Hollywood film crew are on board the ship filming a new action film and Patricia is quite happy to sit back and watch the show. Especially as her friend Barbie has been casted in a minor role. The film grinds to a sudden halt when the leading man is found murdered and Barbie’s life is threatened. With a killer on board Patricia tries to stay out of it until someone booby traps Barbie’s gym locker and fears for her friends life. With Barbie safely tucked away under the capable and watchful eye of Jermaine, Patricia launches her own investigation into the film crew and with an inside man on her side she will stop at nothing to ensure her friend stays safe.
The narrator was good. Being English I don’t always like it when people try to play the part of an English person, they normally sound to snobby but I thought Katherine Anderson did a good job.
This is the third book in the Cruise Mysteries series. Patricia continues her journey of personal growth, cheered on by her butler, Jermaine, and her personal trainer, Barbie. I particularly like that Barbie is not portrayed as a bimbo, but a smart woman with a beautiful body she works hard to maintain. The three friends are again in the middle of a mystery when Patricia overhears a suspicious conversation, and that leads to humorous situations and a kinky maid costume.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
There’s something maternal in Patricia’s nature that keeps her forgiving of those who lack social skills. Maybe it’s because she was a house cleaner before her year of cruising the world in the finest suite on HMS Aurelia, complete with butler service. When a member of the slain Hollywood star’s crew comes up with a theory of ‘who done it’, she steps in to keep him from making too much of a mess of the murder investigation by those in charge. Not that she mightn’t make a similar mess herself when her security guard gets hit by falling furniture!
Higgs manages to keep us guessing as Patricia manages to keep her friend Barbie from being the next victim and the rest of the crew safe by the skin of her teeth.
I received this book as an Advanced Readers Copy. All opinions are my own.
The Director’s Cut is the third book of the Patricia Fisher mysteries, and this time the Aurelia is host to a Hollywood film crew. After the leading actress, whom after hearing nothing else about her and having dismissed her as a character, shows back up out of nowhere, breaks her ankle, Barbie fills in with lead man Tarquin Trebek. He ends up floating in a pool, and Barbie is the next target.
Along with Barbie, and her butler Jermaine, Patty once again gets pulled into the investigation. She’s managed to pick up an odd member of the film crew, Shane Sussman, who insists the producer, Ian Kenyon, is the murderer. Once again, she runs amok, unchallenged except by warnings from the Deputy Captain, resulting in more hilarity and more stumbling into the wrong situations. Even the Captain seems more interested in subtle flirting rather than curbing her actions.
While the story was amusing, as usual, with plenty of humor, the pace seemed too fast, as Patricia stumbled into situations that led her to the wrong conclusions. And she did stumble. She did very little research or actual investigating, her mind seemingly more on the Captain than the murder. There was very little character development, though I was pleased to see Patricia standing up to Charlie. We don’t learn anything new about our characters, having already been given hints about the attraction between Patricia and the Captain. This was disappointing.
I still enjoy the characters and definitely will read the next book.
Great fun cosy mystery set on a luxury cruise ship with brilliant characters.
There is a lot of humour in this classic murder mystery, where a film star is killed whilst scenes from a film are being filmed on the ship.
Patricia, her butler and her beautiful fitness instructor friend, Barbie are dragged into the investigation, especially as someone seems to want to frame Barbie for the murder.
I love the relationships that Patricia has with the other characters and the mystery is well written, with lots of possible suspects and red herrings thrown in.
I received an advance copy of the book, but have voluntarily written this honest review.
Best Patricia story yet (although I said that about the last one too)! I can NOT get enough of Steve Higg’s stories (all of his series). He makes me laugh, which we all need, he makes me turn pages until I absolutely have to work or sleep, and he makes me count the days until the next story comes out. The fact that he and his characters are British only adds to my love of these books (I should have been born in England). Please keep them coming, Steve, and please make Charlie pay for his sins!
Patricia is aboard the Aurelia on a three month cruise. She’s been enjoying the cruise, making friends and changing her lifestyle. She’s also solved a few mysteries on the ship. Currently they’re on the LA to Hawaii leg and a movie is being filmed on board. Her friend and gym instructor, Barbie, lucks into a small part of the movie when the original actress broke her ankle. It’s all fun and excitement until the main actor is murdered. Patricia is sure she won’t be helping with this investigation, but will she? For that matter, will Barbie and Patricia’s butler, Jermaine, be helping? As always, this is a great cozy mystery with lots of action, laughs and a good plot. I definitely recommend it.
The Aurelia docked in Los Angeles just long enough to pick up a film crew, but Patricia Fisher is already missing her bibulous friend, Lady Mary, as she and Jermaine, her devoted butler, watch superstar Tarquin Trebeck in action on deck. He dodges bullets and bombs while filming a scene with their friend Barbie, the gym instructor who’s helped Patricia transform her body and spirit. She’s picked up a small role in his latest film because the actress hired for the role broke her ankle when she slipped poolside after having a few too many glasses of champagne.
At dinner that night, the film’s producer, Ian Kenyon, makes a rude remark about Barbie, which results in Tarquin exacting humiliating revenge. Kenyon vows ruin, so when Trebeck is found floating in the very pool he was dashing around earlier, his throat slit, the producer is the natural suspect. A gnome-like film crew member, Shane Sussman, insists Kenyon is the killer and drags Patricia into another amateur investigation.
However, Mr. Ikari, the deputy captain and security head, clears Kenyon of suspicion, which enrages Sussman and baffles Patricia and Jermaine. The latter have their hands full helping Barbie, though, as her gym locker was booby-trapped with a knife and her photo in the gym smeared with a threat in red paint, all while she’s mourning the loss of her co-star.
While Barbie stays in Patricia’s suite for her safety, along with a pair of bodyguards— Lieutenants Pippin, an eager young officer barely out of his teens and Charpentier, an boorish former French Foreign Legionnaire — Patricia continues investigating Trebeck’s murder, relentlessly pushed by Shane, who’s unable to let go of his belief in Kenyon’s guilt, even when Patricia and Jermaine learn the top-secret reason he’s not a suspect. Despite Barbie’s bodyguards, life for the trio grows more dangerous until Patricia and Jermaine accidentally discover the source.
The world-traveling amateur sleuth’s third adventure is her most exciting so far, with fast-paced cinematic thrills, intriguing drop-ins by the captain, and a momentary hint of the future. Steve Higgs has produced yet another superb adventure for Patricia, Jermaine, and Barbie aboard the Aurelia.