Murder On The Oceania - A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery, Book 1: A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery, #1

By Elizabeth Martin

Kendra Phillips is living the dream. She works in a luxury cruise ship as a catering director, gets to travel to international destinations, and experiences food from around the world on a daily basis. After years of working in the hotel industry, she feels right at home in Golden Circle Cruise Liner.

That is, until the cruise is shaken up with a death at sea.

Dennis Harmon, the CEO of one of their biggest corporate clients, is poisoned while eating blackberry cheesecake. With the 500-person occupancy rate of the Oceania, anyone onboard could have killed him. A successful businessman like Mr. Harmon would have more foes than friends.

Kendra’s dream job has turned into her worst nightmare, and now all eyes are on her to find the culprit. Kendra’s on a deadline. She has to find the killer before the ship docks or else she’ll lose any chance of catching the killer, saving the company’s reputation, or her own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chillax Time Publishing
• Release date: Jul 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524272487

Elizabeth Martin

Born on the Canadian prairies and later moved to beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, I've had the immense pleasure of meeting, learning and working with an amazing multicultural group of people. These days I live in a quiet little town up on the Sunshine Coast of BC. My pleasures now are hiking on the mountain trails, being out on the water, visiting with good friends, eating, writing, reading, good wine and cuddles with my sweetie, cat and dog.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Oceania was paradise at sea – there was no other way to describe it. In the ship’s ballroom, soft, satin drapes of silver, gray, and midnight blue hung from the ceiling. The full length glass walls were transformed into a patterned, geometric mural of shimmering silver and white with the help of a few erasable markers. The artwork took up the entirety of the glass. The ballroom held dozens of round tables, each adorned with a stunning centerpiece of flowers and ribbons inside a stained glass vase.

Kendra Phillips and Angela Smith could not help but smile at their creation.

Kendra was the catering director for Golden Circle Cruise Liner International, of which the Oceania was the premier ship of the fleet. Today was the annual Top Franchise Owners Awards Gala of The Cheesecake Room, and it was being held on the ship. As catering director, it was her job to ensure that partner restaurants and cafes on the cruise ships were operating at their best. Angela Smith, her closest friend and the special projects director, was in charge of ensuring all the events in Golden Circle went without a hitch. It looked like a success already.

Together, they organized and executed the annual awards gala of The Cheesecake Room, one of the biggest dessert companies in North America with over a thousand branches across the continent. As one of Golden Circle’s biggest corporate clients, Angela and Kendra couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

This is perfect, Kendra said. She gave a proud smile to her friend. You did it again.

Angela shook her head. "Nah, we did it."

They were only on evening three of a week-long celebration, but everything was going great. The barbecue party on the main deck on the first day was a great success, there was a massive attendance to the pool games and relays that were set up, and the grilled meat and seafood spread was amazingly well received. Kendra chose only the finest and freshest cuts.

This evening was the biggest night. Everyone was dressed to the nines for the Gala. Even Kendra, Angela, and the rest of their team got to join in the party. The ballroom dazzled with women in high heels and breathtaking floor-length ball gowns, while the men looked every bit as dashing in crisp, tailored suits.

The five-way salmon and sauce is a hit, Angela exclaimed. She nudged Kendra with her elbow and took another bite of her appetizer. "Your menu tonight is fantastic. All the dishes complement one another