The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter by Morgan Mayer, is a cozy mystery and my first book by this author. This book is a fun read, with an intelligent and funny older couple. Sheila and Shane McShane are octogenarians from New Hampshire. Their daughter disappeared from a cruise ship, so they are taking the same cruise to find her. I found this book to be a quick read, with well developed plot and quirky characters. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author. If you love cozy mysteries like I do, than I recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When their daughter Shanna fails to return from her cruise, octogenarians Sheila and Shane McShane get no satisfactory answers from the authorities and decide to take matters into their own hands by booking the same cruise as their daughter. Beginning in Amsterdam, they travel around the British Isles, taking the same excursions and questioning the ship’s crew and tour guides along the way. Sheila has the ability to read people by the color of the aura that surrounds them. She is also intuitive and senses the danger that follows them as they get closer to the truth of their daughter’s disappearance.

From the descriptions of the ship, the food service and their excursions, Morgan Mayer takes you on a voyage that will feel familiar to anyone who has cruised before. The McShanes demonstrate a relationship filled with love and respect while being aware of the limits that their age has placed on them. Rather than trying to remember names, Sheila assigns names to the people they meet that reflect their personalities or physical attributes, like Mr. Smelly and Sourpuss. Their determination to find Shanna endears them to the reader and makes this story a delight to read. I would like to thank NetGalley and Indigo Dot Press for providing this book for my review.

This book was such a fun read. I was drawn in right from the beginning, and found myself really engaged with the characters. The main characters were an older couple, who have seem to have an abundance of energy and drive. They took a cruise to try to locate their daughter who went missing from the same cruise 6 weeks prior.

There were funny parts, heart wrenching parts, and heart warming parts. Combined, the sum of these parts made it very enjoyable. It was a fun, easy read that still had substance and a great story line. The main characters are funny, smart and adventurous...I would love to see this made into a series! Highly recommend!

I just adored this book! I read a lot of psychological thrillers, but I don't normally read books in the "cozy mystery" genre, and this book has me wanting to read more of them! As someone who loves to cruise, this book was one I knew I had to read the moment I saw it. It even took me back to some places I've traveled before - when our main characters were in the gift shop at Blarney Castle...I can remember that day like it was just last week! The main characters, octogenarian couple Shelia and Shane McShane are a riot and make this book everything that it is! Without them, the book wouldn't have been nearly as amazing. I found myself laughing out loud many times, mainly at Shelia and the antics that she got herself into. I enjoyed reading as this couple took the exact cruise their daughter took weeks prior as they retraced her steps and tried to find her after she went missing. It was a fabulous read - and I'd love to read more about the McShane family if Morgan Mayer ever writes about them in the future!

I found this to be one of the best cozies that I read from a 'new-to-me' author. I was hooked from the first few pages and hated to put it down and stayed up way to late to finish it.

The McShane's are traveling the same cruise and itinerary as their daughter that didn't return from her cruise. Sheila has no qualms about asking everyone cruise line employee is he or she remembers their daughter. I love the relationship that Sheila and Shane have and how each always has the others back. I also like my 'tour' of the UK with them.

I do hope that there is another one in the series.

This was a lovely light read to pass the time during the lock down of Covid 19.

It follows the story of an older couple as they try and retrace the steps of their daughter who has gone missing from her holiday on a cruise ship.

I was hungry and in need of adventure by the time I finished with all the details of food and day trips in the book.

Would highly recommend as a holiday read for when sunny days and travels come our way again.

This delightful book was just what I needed right now! It is laugh-out-loud funny, has quirky characters you can root for, and lifted my spirits in the best ways. I will definitely be reading future cozy mysteries by Morgan Mayer!

What a lovely mystery. Sheila and Shane McShane's daughter has gone missing from a cruise ship. The authorities are no help and questions remain unanswered. Luckily, this octogenarian couple do not give up easily, especially when it comes to their daughter.

Joining the same cruise as their daughter, they leave behind their comforts in exchange for some answers. What follows is a whirlwind adventure with twists and turns abound.

This book reads easy and is very enjoyable for anyone looking for a quick cozy mystery to read.

The title was so captivating, I just had to read this! However, I quickly lost interest; it was feeling more like a travelogue than a story. Since I had committed to read and review, I kept going and was glad I did. It did pick up and get more interesting. These 80-year-old-something parents were relatable to me, since I am, also, that age and have experienced many of the same frailties. Fortunately, my mind is still sharp as were those of the McShanes as they searched for their daughter who had disappeared while on a European cruise. How I wanted to take that same cruise, as I read.

Part travel fiction, part cozy mystery and 100% enjoyable! I chuckled and smiled through this book. But there was one thing that made me sad- in this time of pandemic, when will we get to cruise again? This book presents the pleasure and allure of cruising, paired with great characters solving a serious mystery.

We meet the stars of this book, Sheila and Shane McShane, as they are attempting to get through a TSA checkpoint. Sheila is 80, and about to lose her full-size pink canister of Flossy Glossy hairspray. But she has more to worry about than tangled hair, she has tangled nerves, because she and her 84-year-old husband have a mystery to solve. Shelia’s wit, kindness and ability to read people’s auras help her in the security line and will continue to guide her throughout their travels.

This couple of smart “oldie-moldies” are flying to Europe to embark on a cruise of the British Isles. They are retracing the vacation of their daughter, Shanna McShane, who went on the same cruise six weeks prior. Mr. and Mrs. McShane haven’t heard from her since. Their constant calls to the cruise line haven’t worked, so they are off to find Shanna.

Soon the McShanes are aboard the Dreamline Cruise, “Celestial of the Seas” (sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) The author does a great job of providing just the right amount of descriptions of life aboard the luxurious ship, as well as giving us interesting segments about the daily excursions to Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and other ports of call.

Yes, the McShanes can never find their ship key card, and they require naps and early nights, but day by day, they manage to retrace Shanna’s trip and find clues about her disappearance. Until they are finally trapped in a deadly situation.

Until we cruise again, enjoy this charming, delightful, fresh and original, story. I do hope this book is the start of a series. Thanks to NetGalley and Indigo Dot Press for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.

First, I would like to thank Net Galley for providing me with the opportunity to read this book before its publishing date!

I personally really enjoyed this story. The mystery and suspense interwoven throughout the story, along with just the overall cuteness of the elderly couple, Sheila and Shane McShane, who are on the search for the missing daughter, really drew me in and kept me involved in the story.

Shanna, a very talented art restorer, has been missing for six weeks, and her parents believe that she was kidnapped directly from the cruise ship vacation that she had been on around Europe. When she never comes home, and authorities seem to do nothing about the dire situation, Sheila and Shane take the situation into their own hands and decide to take a cruise. The same cruise ship that Shanna was last seen on, no less. Sheila and Shane follow the exact path their daughter took a few months before, determined to find her. After watching security videos of her time on the boat and constantly asking everyone they can if they had any information on Shanna, the couple finally gets leads they want and believe they are on the right track. However, trouble is brewing both aboard the ship and off it, and Sheila and Shane are in great danger. Will the couple be able to find their missing daughter? Or will they be stopped before they find her?

There were so many aspects of this book that I really loved. The details throughout the story were so vibrant and lovely, and there were times when I had such a vivid image in my head of the countries visited throughout the story in the search for Shanna.

The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter will not be published until June 9, 2020, but I highly recommend checking it out once it's available if you're looking for a quality mystery to dive into!

4/5 stars!

A good read. Easy to follow but with enough twists to keep it interesting. Loved the fact it was based on a cruise ship as really takes you away when you are reading.

I thought a light genre mystery would be just the thing for quarantine reading. It this wasn’t the right book for me. Even for dedicated light mystery fans, this may feel like a definite debut novel.

The author includes a lot of detail, but it’s like she can’t tell which details are important. So many little asides take away from the pacing.

Both the narration and the dialogue are uncomfortably clunky. No where outside of a job interview will someone ask you in the format “[Question A], and if so, [Question B]?”. Lots of other odd turns of phrase and unnatural word choices interrupted the reading.

May be an author for mystery fans to try, if she gets a few more under her belt to work out the kinks.

It may be a strange time at the moment - Coronavirus isolation time - but as the couple in their 80s show in this book the oldies are tough. Give them a good reason and although they may need plenty of rests and early nights, they can outdo the baddies time and again.

Loved it - a good, gentle read with plenty of laughs too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

I received this book from NetGalley, opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book, I happened to get it during the Covid social distancing. It was a perfect light read when the news is gloomy.
I loved the idea of an older couple trying to figure out what happened to their daughter. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the cities visited on their cruise. If you need a palate cleanser from the news of the day I highly recommend this book.

Set for publication June 9 (2020), THE CRUISE SHIP LOST MY DAUGHTER is a cute cozy mystery featuring Sheila and Shane McShane--a married couple in their 80s--who are busy investigating the unsolved mystery of their missing daughter, Shanna. In an attempt to retrace her steps, the McShane couple embarks upon the same cruise from which Shanna never returned while following her itinerary in a quest for clues. Plenty of action ensues, and as expected in a cozy, readers are given a cast of lovable characters (and of course a few bad guys too) with a nicely resolved ending.

I enjoyed getting to know Sheila and Shane and wouldn't mind spending time with them again. What dropped the rating for me with this novel was the amount of detail given about Sheila and Shane's trip itself. Toward the end of the novel the travel experience didn't take precedence over the sleuthing, but the first half of the novel spent a good deal of time recounting in great detail aspects of cruising itself. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy living vicariously through Sheila and Shane as they marveled at cruise ship luxuries, but this at times bogged down the momentum of the plot. Nevertheless, this is a well-written read that entertains and offers the ability to travel the world all from the comfort of your chair.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. This is a cute mystery with a sweet, octagenarian couple as the main characters, traveling around the British Isles looking for their missing daughter by following her footsteps, 6 weeks after she goes missing. It was fun but not too cheesy - recommended fun read, especially on vacation or at the beach!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s light and fun with humorous characters and a captivating storyline. Sheila and Shane may be old, but they’re not out for the count, and together they make for a great team, searching for their daughter on the same cruise she went missing from. There’s not a lot of depth to the novel, but on the other hand, it’s a quick and easy read and kept me guessing in an entertaining way. I also liked the descriptions of the different ports of call, and I thought the story was a nice balance between the places they visit and the mission of finding their daughter.

Thank you NetGalley and Indigo Dot Press for the eARC.
Sheila and Shane McShane are taking a cruise to find their daughter who went missing from the ship.
The two octogenarians are determined to find out what happened to her.
I was hoping for a read that would make me feel I was on a fantasy trip, visiting interesting locales while a winter storm is howling outside my house.
This book didn't do it for me though...not enough descriptions of the locations they visited and I found the story a bit boring, which made me flip through to the end.

Really a well written cozy with senior sleuths aboard a cruise ship. It kept me guessing to the end! Enjoyable read!