Cruise Ship Heist once again topped more than one Amazon chart, and wins in Los Angeles.
The summer holiday book read Cruise Ship Heist was invited to hundreds of festivals, probably due to my past movie profile, but I agreed to just three. New York, LA and Oxford. It was shortlisted as a nomination/finalist in Oxford and won in LA. The seven book series makes its own Summer Book Club because once you are into the series it rolls on. Many say they can’t put the page turners down. If you read it, please review it on the supplying site, whether Apple Books, Google Playstore, or Amazon Kindle and hardback. That award got it noticed and for a while it topped more than one Amazon chart. Without advertising, and that is a train we are not jumping on, it is unlikely to do that until it is noticed by someone again. Our fingers are crossed but even many bookclubs only react to paid content. We reply on our cruisers.
Cruise Ship Heist – book 1 in the thrilling CSCI series
Having won those awards, I would like to again publicly thank my team, especially David Withington (the grammar editor), and Jean Heard (my un wind the dyslexia editor). Laura Aikman (for being harsh on story) and Ryan Da Rocha (for saying, not good enough, go over it again). They forced the award winning second drafts that I did on all the books after surviving the brain surgery that had been on my horizon for many years.
The books and their stories are the same, but after seven books and so much character development and familiarities, I did go back and weave a few foreshadows into the new second drafts. The titles of two need to change – Human Laudry was too clever, Cruise Traffic may miss the point too, as it is about human trafficking. As was the film that won me Best Director in the USA back in 2010. In doing that edit with a clear head and a future, all the novels we trimmed to 300 pages. The standard paperback holiday read length.
Also thanks to TV writer Matt Kennard for pushing me to add the new start to book one. Plus, the book club critics that suggested they wanted more at the end of `heist – obviously there are six other published books, but they wanted top know what happened to the other characters. Hence the 2nd draft of Cruise Ship Heist has a new first chapter and additional end chapters to thread the new female character story lines in, ready for them to join the team. But you have to wait (or jump to) book seven to know where the money goes.
Cruise Ship Heist – book 1
CSCI starts with Cruise Ship Heist, where Kieron Philips is travelling to join a cruise ship in South America as an invited guest speaker. It was arranged by his adopted Syrian daughter who is a dancer on the ship.
He soon finds out that the change of date and his being in the wrong place at the wrong time were planned to last degree. His services are required, and he is drawn deeper and deeper into the dark. As he makes friends and enemies above and below decks, he does not know who to trust as the plot gets more complex as the cruise leaves land to cross the Atlantic.
The only thing the reader can know is that some might join him in the future Cruise Ship Crime Investigators, but however hard you try and guess you will never see the future clearly.
The thriller cruise novel series. Each book can be a stand alone read. Book series page = https://amzn.to/4bl0to5
Read the official review from the USA OnLineBookClub
Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review by Bibliophile, of “Cruise Ship Heist”(2nd Edition) by Stuart St Paul (2023)
In Cruise Ship Heist by Stuart St Paul, Commander Kieron Philips, a retired military man, was headed to a cruise ship en route to the Panama Canals as a commentator. It was an excellent opportunity for him to see his daughter, Auli’I, a dancer on the ship. At the Airport, Kieron observed many strange things that he couldn’t explain. Getting to the ship, he found himself millions of dollars richer, and there was no end to the strange occurrences that only seemed to get more suspicious. Not one to leave anything up to chance, his eyes and ears were opened, following anything that seemed like a clue as he was determined to get to the root of everything. One thing was then clear to him, neither his presence at the airport at that particular time nor on the cruise ship was a coincidence. Someone had orchestrated everything; he had been chosen for a reason, and he intended to find out why.
The plot of the story was complex and had much depth to it; it presented this giant riddle with many unpredictable facets. The story carried intrigue right from when Commander Kieron Philips was introduced at the airport. His character gave off waves of mystery and intrigue with the peculiar situation in which he found himself…Kieron was the tangy combination of the good cop and the bad cop. He was the guy you wanted in your corner when things got ugly because he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. His character stood out because of his keen eye for foul play, bravery, and kindness. More so, the author gave a lot of insight into Kieron’s thoughts and the complicated mental process of solving the mystery that lived on the cruise ship. Another impressive character was Hunter Witowski, the cruise ship’s head of security. He had a dry humor that belied his tough exterior. He was one character I didn’t expect to like, but he became one of my favorites.
The characters’ dialogues were exciting. It was fun to see the wordplay between the characters, especially with Kieron and his sometimes funny attempts to keep his ‘secrets’ secret. Cruise Ship Heist was action-packed, suffused with danger, murder, and unpredictability. This was one of those stories that would stay with you for a while, as it delivered mystery and intrigue. The book was fun to read; there was no dull moment, and the entire experience was a rollercoaster ride. I enjoyed every part of Cruise Ship Heist. It was professionally edited, and I disliked nothing in it. Therefore, I’d rate it five out of five stars. Cruise Ship Heist would be appreciated by lovers of mystery and thrillers.
CSCI starts with Cruise Ship Heist, where Kieron Philips is travelling to join a cruise ship in South America as an invited guest speaker. It was arranged by his adopted Syrian daughter who is a dancer on the ship.
