The instigator of this cruise to solve a crime is the victim himself, weeks after the fact. Money makes most things possible, an axiom the Robert Hardwick relied upon when a letter read at his death by private investigator Harry Montana details the cruise plans. The victim’s six suspects are to be invited to take a cruise and at the end of the cruise billionaire victim Robert Hardwick’s will is to be read. The sweetener for the trip is $100,000 to be paid to each for making the trip.

Years prior, Hardwick had rescued Daisy Keane at a low point in her life when she had been rejected by her husband for a younger model. She became his personal assistant and a large part of his life. He became aware that his life was in jeopardy and made these elaborate plans for the cruise in the event something did happen to him. A trusted friend Harry Montana was designated to implement them.

Invitees for the cruise include Hardwick’s first and only true love Rosalie, Diane, the only woman he married and Filomena, his post marriage mistress. He also chose three men whom he had ruined, each with a motive to kill. The men he had destroyed numbered among them a traitor, a thief and a pedophile that sold porn and most forms of illegal sex.

A few normal friends are included for purposes of distraction. And true to the Hardwick’s plans, the tension begins at the first dinner, as it is impossible for these people to get along. On the side, Harry is off chasing clues and when on board chasing Daisy.

The story is light, fun and memorable. Robert Hardwick had constructed a multi-theme plot - the first to find his murderer if he has indeed been murdered and the second, with the monies devised by his will, a plan for redemption for five of the six. Harry’s investigation reveals during the sail that Hardwick had been killed by a remote bomb blast while driving. So the hunt intensifies.

The killer is unmasked at the reading of the will, but the journey there is filled with descriptive prose and witty, crisp dialogue. Adler imparts a real sense of place to Saint-Tropez, Sorrento and Capri as viewed by very wealthy tourists.

Elizabeth Adler’s skillful touch gives Sailing to Capri an unexpected plot structure peopled with adroitly drawn characters.

--Thea Davis