Murder takes a vacation : a novel / Laura Lippman.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Murder Takes a Vacation has all Laura Lippman's trademark razor-sharp insight and effortlessly absorbing writing, plus huge amounts of warmth and fun. Mrs. Blossom is a pure joy, and I'm already hoping for more." -Tana French

Highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman returns with an irresistible mystery featuring Muriel Blossom, a former private investigator and middle-aged widow whose vacation on a Parisian river cruise turns into a deadly international mystery...that only she can solve.

A New York Times "Best Beach Reads of Summer"

One of Washington Post's "Best Mysteries to Read This Summer"

One of Boston Globe's "Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List"

One of Minneapolis Star Tribune's "24 terrific books for the beach, cabin or lawn chair you'll want to read this summer"

One of Chicago Tribune's Summer Books 2025

Mrs. Blossom has a knack for blending into the background, which was an asset during her days assisting private investigator Tess Monaghan. But when she finds a winning lottery ticket in a parking lot, everything changes. She is determined to see the world that she sometimes feels is passing her by.

When Mrs. Blossom booked her cruise through France on the MS Solitaire, she did not expect to meet Allan on her transatlantic flight. He is the first man who's sparked something inside her since her beloved husband passed.

She also didn't expect Allan to be found, dead, twenty-four hours later in Paris, a city he wasn't supposed to be in.

Now Mrs. Blossom doesn't know who to trust on board the ship, especially when a mystifying man, Danny, keeps popping up around every corner, always present when things go awry. He is convinced that Allan was transporting a stolen piece of art, and Mrs. Blossom knows more than she lets on, regarding both the artifact and Allan's death.

Mrs. Blossom's questions only increase as the cruise sails down the Seine. Why does it feel like she is being followed? Who was Allan, and why was he killed? Most alarmingly, why do these mysterious men keep flirting with her?

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

A supporting character in Lippman's Tess Monaghan books, Muriel Blossom takes on real main-character energy in this stand-alone cozy mystery (following the harder-edged Prom Mom). This is as much a study of a woman discovering herself at midlife as it is a story of possible murder, stolen art, and people being not what--or who--they seem to be. Like Miranda July's All Fours, the novel tackles women's changing bodies with a combination of humor, grim realism, and expansiveness, as Muriel acknowledges her internalized fatphobia and begins to recognize her beauty not despite but because of her shape. Plus, there's a plot twist that involves a bottle of melatonin--what could be more midlife than that?--and commentary on how women of a certain age make good investigators because they are socially invisible. Witty and propulsive without ever sacrificing its character-driven exploration of women's identities in relationships and with themselves, this could blossom into a series. VERDICT Like the novel's lottery-winning protagonist, Lippman's fans will feel like they hit the jackpot with this warm and cozy romp through a Paris vacation and cruise, without too many lives lost along the way.--Emily Bowles

Publishers Weekly Review

Lippman (Prom Mom) triumphs with this charming mystery featuring Muriel Blossom, a Baltimore widow--and former assistant to PI Tess Monaghan, star of another Lippman series--who finds an $8 million lottery ticket abandoned in a parking lot. In the decade since Muriel's husband died, she's carved out a pleasant but bland existence with her daughter's family. After she hits the jackpot, she makes arrangements for a cruise in France with her best friend, Elinor. On the flight over, Muriel meets the charming Allan, who takes her to dinner after they land in Paris. When Allan suspiciously dies the next day, the police question Muriel, since she was in one of the most recent photos on Allan's phone. Enter American stranger Danny Johnson, who ingratiates himself with Muriel and warns her she might be in danger. After her and Elinor's ship leaves port, Muriel's stateroom is ransacked, a man attempts to mug her, and she learns Danny is lying about his identity. Lippman fans will be delighted by the appearance of Tess, who enlivens the plot after Muriel calls her for advice. By the time the clever conclusion rolls around, readers will be sad to see this trip come to an end. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (June)

Booklist Review

With themes reminiscent of both The Maltese Falcon and Charade, widow Muriel Blossom, the assistant to Lippman's star sleuth Tess Monaghan, now has a case of her own. It all starts when Mrs. Blossom, as she prefers to be called, finds a winning lottery ticket. She decides to spend some of the money on something extravagant and books a luxurious vacation in France on a river cruise. En route, she is romanced by a charming older gentleman named Allan Turner, but after he falls "accidentally" from his hotel balcony, she meets a younger man named Danny Johnson, who attaches himself to her. It turns out that he is after a stolen antiquity that Turner was transporting and might have passed on to Mrs. B., who suddenly finds herself in a dangerous situation. A convoluted story unfolds, amidst some excellent misdirection. The challenge is to keep up as the characters day-trip their way down the Seine. This is being marketed as a beach read, but readers need to expect more noir than cozy, despite the inviting cover.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Leave it to perennially popular Lippman to combine a French river cruise and an unlikely investigator with a dark, international mystery.