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Murder Below Deck

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Murder Below Deck

By: Orlando Murrin
Narrated by: Sebastian Humphreys
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Worse things happen at sea…

Paul Delamare has been roped into accompanying his old friend on a luxury cruise aboard the magnificent superyacht Maldemer. It’s all plain sailing until his friend’s priceless necklace is stolen, and everyone falls under suspicion.

As Paul races to catch the thief, the ship begins to drift off-course, veering into the storm-lashed mid-Atlantic. Then one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious circumstances, in a pool of coffee and surrounded by cake crumbs.

It’s all hands on deck to catch the killer, but Paul soon discovers guests and crew are harbouring deadly secrets. And if he can’t get to the bottom of the mystery soon, he’ll be sleeping with the fishes.

'Orlando Murrin knows exactly how to satisfy a reader’s appetite!' Lesley Kara

'A cocktail of wit, spicy observation, intrigue and the delicious unknown.' Jane Corry

'Should give Richard Osman a run for his money!' C.J. Carver

©2025 Orlando Murrin (P)2025 Penguin Audio

 Amateur Sleuths Cosy Culinary Genre Fiction Humorous Literature & Fiction Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives

Critic Reviews

Delightful...packed with wit and culinary digressions.
This second cosy mystery from former MasterChef contestant and chef-hotelier Murrin is even more delightful than his debut…Enormous fun, it is a mystery written with great elan.
Enormous fun from start to finish, I adore chef Paul Delamere’s brilliant observational humour and expert sleuthing skills. He’s the kind of main character you’d want to be friends with, and this entertaining follow-up to Knife Skills for Beginners felt like a wonderful mix between Glass Onion and Death and Other Details, with the added flavour of a chef’s unique perspective.
This is a fun, fast-paced mystery with real heart. The super yacht setting is irresistible and the writing so compelling that, in places, I was rolling with the waves as I read! Overall, I was blown away by how vividly Orlando portrays the glamorous, quirky and surprisingly murky world of the excessively wealthy.
The most perfect book to read over Christmas! An absorbing and addictive cosy crime read that I adored. It should give Richard Osman a run for his money! Fast, fun and deliciously witty, this is a fabulously enjoyable murder mystery.
A delicious serving of murder at sea, with a tasty garnish of cooking tips and a generous sprinkling of laugh-out-loud humour. Orlando Murrin knows exactly how to satisfy a reader’s appetite!
Orlando Murrin’s story telling had me turning page after page after page – I devoured the novel in two days flat. Sit back and savour this cracking new tale of murder, mayhem and things that go splash in the night.
Orlando Murrin has done it again! All aboard the Maldemer for a delicious murder mystery - as satisfying as a rich bouillabaisse, and with wit sharper than a chef's knife. Paul Delamare is an inspired creation and it was a joy to spend time with him again in this original and sassy crime caper on the high seas.
Murder Below Deck is like drinking a cocktail of wit, spicy observation, intrigue and the delicious unknown. Orlando Murrin writes with skill and panache – rather like his legendary cooking.
An absorbing read, and I didn't guess the murderer!
All stars
Most relevant
I requested this book on NetGalley based solely on its cover art, but sadly, the sharks swimming lazily in a bowl of bisque are actually red herrings; no one is eaten by a shark. Although some recipes are included at the end, there's no bisque recipe included. I read the first book in this series, Knife Skills for Beginners, as homework and in that, Chef Paul Delamare agrees to help a friend by teaching at an exclusive cooking school. In this book, Chef Paul is roped into accompanying an old friend on a cruise aboard a superyacht.

An expensive necklace goes missing, and Chef Paul races to catch the thief (because he is the leading suspect) and then one of the passengers is found dead, surrounded by crumbs of the cake he'd baked the night before *gasp!*

The setting is interesting, on board a superyacht, which means this is a locked-room mystery (I do love a locked-room mystery!). The yacht is filled with wealthy (and mostly tedious) passengers, and Paul is also roped into helping in the galley, so he has access to those who work below deck as well. The more he looks, the more he discovers about the dark secrets the yacht is hiding.

Paul does have some 'off yacht' help, in the form of emails from his friend who draws him a daily tarot card, and later, emails from her police man boyfriend when things turn ugly on board.

👍 Mild thumbs up.

Body count = 1

Also released under the title May Contain Murder

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