Star on board: Catherine Cooper

Why did you decide to set your new book on a ship?
Several reasons – I was partly inspired by the cruise ships moored off the South coast of England during Covid and fascinated by the fact that they are obliged to have a skeleton crew onboard.

Some of these ships are so huge, I figured they’d be quite spooky and atmospheric with only a few people on them. My books so far have all had a luxury travel theme, so it fitted in well with that.

I also find it interesting that while cruising is of course one of the safest forms of travel, every year several people go missing from cruise ships, and quite often, no one really gets to the bottom of what happened.

Did you base the ship on any particular ship you’ve sailed on?
Not really – it’s an amalgam of many with a lot of details which are total invention.

The book is based on a luxury ship – is that deliberate?
Yes – readers seem to enjoy the luxury elements of my books, plus I love inventing and writing about luxury suites, Michelin-starred food etc.

I think my fictional ship is the only one with a revolving Michelin starred restaurant, for example, but that’s not to say there couldn’t be a real one in the future.

Why is a ship a good location for a murder mystery?
There’s the locked room element – it’s difficult to get on or off easily - but also the huge and eclectic range of people you have on board – both passengers and crew.

Onboard, no one really knows who you are or where you came from so it’s easy to escape your old life and start a new one, should you want to.

Also – whenever I’ve been on a ship, I find the size of the ocean quite scary if I think about it too much! It’s so massive and powerful. If you go in, it’s quite possible to be swallowed up and never seen again.

How did you research your book?
Much of it was written during Covid when cruise ships weren’t sailing so I watched a lot of YouTube videos, read some crew memoirs and spent a lot of time on cruise ship websites looking at deck plans and virtual tours for inspiration for what I could put on my ship.

I also joined a couple of Facebook groups which were devoted to keeping an eye on the moored- up ships, and I chatted to a few crew and cruisers online too.

Have you cruised yourself?
Yes, back in 2006, I went on Costa Concordia which was the ship which sadly ran aground in 2012. When it was launched, it was the biggest in Europe, carrying 3,700 passengers and 1,000 crew.

To me it seemed absolutely enormous and I regularly lost my way trying to find my (rather lovely) stateroom, but since then obviously they have almost doubled in size!

My other cruise was with a lovely group of ramblers on Fred Olsen’s Boudicca where instead of getting the coaches to go sightseeing we would do walking tours on the stops – a much smaller ship and a very different experience. Both good though!

Why do you think people like to take cruise holidays?
I think it’s a very easy, safe way to travel – everything is done for you, there’s no hanging about in airports, worrying about missing trains etc. They’re a great way to see a lot of places in one trip and there’s always fabulous food and drink easily available at any time.

Have you ever met anyone like your mysterious main character, dancer Lola?
Aww poor Lola. No, I haven’t.

Is this a good book to take on your next cruise?
I think so! Obviously there are dastardly deeds going on but I don’t think it’s too scary.

Where is your next book going to be set?
I’m working on it at the moment and it’s set partly in an overwater resort in the Maldives and partly in the home counties. Again, lots of luxury, great food, and a few deaths!

The Cruise will be published on October 30, 2022 by Harper Collins, £7.91 (amazon.co.uk). Fancy winning a copy of The Cruise? We have 10 copies up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning, simply complete the form below. Good luck!