Phillip Fitzsimmons

A 1920s cosy aboard a yacht on the Scilly Seas

Golden-age gadabout Anty Boisjoly, his valet Vickers, the weary and wary Inspector Wittersham, and a passenger list of howling eccentrics find themselves prey to the sway and spray of the Scilly Seas when what at first seems a simple, unexplainable, locked-stateroom murder twists into a tale of pirate treasure, perilous weather and treacherous endeavours at sea.

Just as with all Anty Boisjoly stand-alone stumpers, Mystery and Malice aboard RMS Ballast is best enjoyed by those who can stand some slight silliness in their maritime mysteries.

Anty Boisjoly Mysteries are old-school, clean and cosy, locked-room mysteries with improbable plots inspired by Agatha Christie written in the style of an homage to PG Wodehouse.