Its a wonderful opening frontpiece revealling a body, which really captivated me, then comes the prologue. Its all really intriguing, centering around the crew [there are no passengers!] who are on board whilst the ship is undergoing a "lay-up." Dancer Lola has gone missing. Has she gone overboard?
However there's underlying tones of something sinister lurking in the background. None of the crew are who they first seem, and the reader doesn't know who or what to believe. I wondered what its all building up to.
Written in parts - it doesn't all take place on the cruise ship. I thought it skillfully plotted, gripping, surprising and suspenseful. Very cleverly done and thoroughly enjoyable.

What a great read, not what I first thought it would be, about half the novel is set the cruise ship. Kept me guessing for sometime how it was going to end. Highly recommend and look forward to more from Catherine Cooper

Published November 10, Catherine is known for her claustrophobic and contained reads, the modern day equivalent of a locked room mystery. Her third book is no different as all characters live aboard a luxurious cruise ship. It sounds idyllic, until one of the ship’s dancers, Lola, goes missing during a New Year’s Eve party, and her partner is bereft. Fast forward two weeks into the new year and as the ship is out of service, only a skeleton crew are on board. However, that doesn’t stop scary things from happening, like people going missing… and well, not exactly turning up. No one knows who is responsible for the crimes, why these particular people are chosen, or who will be next. Catherine seamlessly mingles life on a luxury cruiser – the lack of glamour if you’re not sleeping above the waterline – with the frightening reality of there being a bad guy in the crew. Every bit as tense and enjoyable as her previous two books.

It's New Year's Eve 2021 and Lola who is a dancer on the cruise ship goes missing. A couple of people saw someone go overboard, was it Lola?
For the most part this was an enjoyable read.
I liked the back story and how everything unfolded (no spoilers). It all started to make sense. The past and present entwined.
My only ugh moment was when Antonio went to see Stuart.
This isn't all set on a cruise ship, about half of this is.
I particularly enjoyed the ending. I liked the way it was all planned out and all misdemeanors were perfectly executed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Twisty, unpredictable, suspenseful and left me on the edge of my seat. I loved the setting too as this really added to the atmosphere being stuck on a boat and not being able to get off.

Thanks to Catherine and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Cruise prior to the publication date.

Why would you want to work on a cruise ship on minimum wage and living in the cramped bowels of the ship with no natural light or fresh air?
The crew each have their own reasons.
For some, it is the perfect place to hide from their past.

It is against that backdrop that Catherine has woven a tale of intrigue, bed hopping and drugs.
Secrets and lies will be revealed and there are red herrings aplenty.
Without giving away any of the story, I think this would make a good choice for a book club discussion

I enjoyed Catherine Cooper's debut, The Chalet, and I like thrillers set on cruise ships almost as much as thrillers set in isolated, snowy locations, so I was eager to pick up The Cruise. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to the potential of its early chapters, and I ultimately found it startlingly disjointed. The Cruise feels like two different novels smashed together. One is indeed set on a cruise ship, minimally staffed in its layoff from service, where a woman goes missing. The other traces the backstory of one of the characters, who grew up isolated from the world with her father, who refused to let her have any contact with other people. Frustratingly, both threads are compelling, but they just don't feel like they belong together, and I was annoyed to pick up a novel billed as being about a cruise and find it was really about an abusive childhood. However, the novel really goes off the rails in its final third, when Cooper tries to bring both threads together. The denouement feels strangely rushed, and the character I was most invested in - Michelin-starred chef Alice - is basically discarded, making me wonder why she was given so much screen time at the beginning of the novel. Ultimately, I felt shortchanged. More ship, less backstory next time please.

I will post this review to my blog and Goodreads nearer the publication date.