Death on the Lusitania by R.L. Graham

Our top reviewer, Sophie Nock, shares why she enjoyed this book.

Death on the Lusitania is a complex and compelling debut novel, full of interwoven plotlines, snippets of history and unusual, nuanced characters. At first arrival on the Lusitania, it seems most of the people on Patrick Gallagher’s table are strangers to each other, but as he investigates a murder on the captain’s orders it becomes increasingly obvious that all is not what it seems, and that the hidden connections between the pasts of different passengers provide almost everyone with ample motive for murder.

The historical backdrop of the first world war and the Mexican Civil War are expertly woven in, with the reaction of passengers to the situation in Europe as they approach the war zone constantly forcing the tension to new heights, creating chaos and mutiny while Gallagher and the crew attempt to uncover the identity of multiple murderers and spies; and all the while the reader knows that this is Lusitania’s final voyage, while the passengers are oblivious to the dark fate that awaits them.

Death on the Lusitania is not just a mystery novel – alongside the investigation into deaths and sabotage aboard “Big Lucy” the debates among passengers present a multitude of political views and ideas still relevant today. The discussions of morality, pacifism, scientific advancement and the nature of war itself invite a debate inside the reader’s own mind, questioning both the wars in history and those that rage around the world today. Yet every character who suggests a new perspective on these topics is soon proven deceitful in other areas, such that we never quite know who to trust, or whose opinion to consider as rational, genuine or just a distractor from their true beliefs.