Death on the Danube: A New Year’s Murder in Budapest (Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)

4.5 stars An enjoyable, fast read that kept us guessing. I got this book when it was offered free on Amazon, and saved it to read over the New Year holiday. The characters and settings were interesting. It moved at a pretty regular pace without getting bogged down. There were enough conversations and actions to counteract all the descriptions. And there were secrets and conflicts between the tourists to give some intrigue and a murder would be easy to fathom without an obvious suspect. Unlike many cozies, this book had few really idiotic or questionable actions. The reason it wasn't quite 5 stars was because there were a smattering of grammatical errors, and two incidents that seemed weird. One of the tourists received a "deep" wound when she picked up a very sharp knitting needle that fell on the floor. How does that even happen? Also, after discovering someone had fallen overboard, Lana went to bed and heard what sounded like someone knocking on the ship's hull outside her cabin, but didn't investigate? Those were the only parts that didn't seem plausible, which I found quite amazing given the number of free cozy mysteries I've read. I will gladly purchase the second book in the series, which is a Valentine's Day mystery, and I'm looking forward to reading it when we get into February.

Another will written travel adventure thriller with interesting characters and a murder thrown in by Jennifer S. Alderson (Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Series book 1). A cute travel adventure with interesting characters with strange relationships which ends with murder. I would recommend this novel to readers of murder mystery novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening to books 📚. 2022 👒😤😡

I am a great fan of Jennifer S. Alderson's Adventures of Zelda Richardson books as I really enjoy the fast pace and wonderfully exotic locations that feature in this series. When this first book in Ms Alderson's new cozy mystery series became available, I quickly snatched it up to see what this versatile author can do in this slightly different genre. I have recently visited Budapest, so I was also keen to see how this amazing city is featured in this book.I was not disappointed, either with regards to the genre or the setting of Death on the Danube. As a cozy mystery, this book is shorter than the Zelda books and, as a result, the characters are not as fleshed out. this was not a problem for me as I still got a good feel for Lana, the recently divorced heroine, who finds herself unexpectedly dealing with a murder investigation instead of just assuming the new role of tour guide to a party of wealthy tourists. Lana was previously an investigative journalist and this experience comes in handy when Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube.This book reminded me of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express as it had lots of interesting characters. The story dips into each potential suspects life and reveals enough tantalizing details about a few of them to make them a likely suspect and Lana must do some hard work to unravel their stories and how they fit into Carl's messy life.Carl was an interesting chap with his involved history of womanizing, gambling and misleading people in order to gain their financial support. He was likable enough for me to not entirely hate him and I felt rather bad about his untimely death even though he was a bit of a rotter.The introduction of the travel element and virtual tour the author gives her readers separates this book from others in this genre and made it a really interesting read. The depictions of the tourist destinations were interesting and the descriptions of the food, tantalizing.I would strongly recommend this book to lovers of cozy mysteries and short murder mystery stories.

I bought this mostly because I'm going to Budapest soon. It was fun to read scenes about places I've researched. It even mentioned the hotel we're staying in. The story itself was fine, but nothing great. It's a decent light read, nice short chapters, good for winding down before bedtime.

Death on the Danube by Jennifer S. Alderson is the first book of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. It’s a fast-paced tale of murder and greed. The travel descriptions were so good it made you want to go there in real life, not just read about it. The descriptions include castles, an opera house, markets, hotels, museums in Hungary. Lana, a down to earth former reporter, takes on the job of travel guide as a favor to a friend who owns the travel agency. With no training or experience Lana is overwhelmed trying to satisfy the whims of this crowd of travelers. When the other travel guide ends up murdered Lana feels that she has let her friend down. She needs to get 5 star ratings to keep the agency afloat, but how will that be possible with a murder? Lana carries on and does her best to not only investigate the murder but deal with each and every passenger. This is an interesting murder mystery that keeps you guessing to the very end. I look forward to reading book 2 Death By Baguette. I received a free copy of this ebook from the author and would like to thank her for the opportunity to read it.

Wonderful storyline with great characters. This is a different kind of story than what I’ve read before and was very entertaining.

This was an amazing cozy mystery with so much to enjoy in a background like Budapest!!! The characters were wonderful….I loved them all! I actually felt sad when they headed home! Don’t miss this one….it’s really great!

Loved the book. There was enough description to visualise the people and the sights without it bogging down the story line. Now I want to visit Budapest

This cozy mystery is written by a well-travelled author. Budapest comes alive with history as the tour group explores the sights. The cruise down the Danube was also rich in description. The food, the markets, the tours around the city made for a grand trip.The mystery unfolded about halfway through. Up to that point, one wondered who was going to be murdered, the tour guests were quite an eclectic bunch, a handful for our novice tour guide.I really enjoyed this book. On to Book 2 of the series.

Just the kind of book I need to read. A good cozy mystery novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I recommend it to those looking for a lighthearted mystery with a variety of characters on a tour of Budapest.

See review above the line. My mistake, but hope you are abke to use. A good read, filled with tense moments.