The Lusitania Murders

Author Max Allan Collins is adept at transforming raw historical research and tried-and-true mystery novel techniques into an entertaining and thought-provoking adventure in "The Lusitania Murders." I highly enjoyed the character of Wright aka Van Dine and his adventures with the ship's most interesting and famous first class passengers. This is a window into the art, literary and popular culture of the Jazz Age, through figures such as a Elbert Hubbard, Vanderbilt, Frohman and Kessler, among others. WWI politics lurk in the shadows, fueling the pseudo-reality of this Agatha Christie-like mystery. The author impresses with his breadth of knowledge and does a good job of enlivening and condensing the voluminous research into a highly readable novel. I pulled this book off the shelf knowing nothing of Collins or the Lusitania and was highly impressed.

The author William Huntington Wright, traveling under his alias S.S.Van Dine (Wright and Van Dine are real people as are most of the characers in this book), is undercover for the British as a journalist on the last voyage of the Lusitania to discover if it is carrying munition for the enemy. Along the way, he interviews the likes of Alfred Vanderbilt, Charles Forham and Elbert Hubbard. As expected, murders and espionage soon become all too common occurrences and Van Dine with the help of a female Pinkerton agent is rapidly engaged in the investigation. The Lusitania Murders, judging by its author's notes (def. worth reading) is well-researched but lacking a tightness and suspense that keeps the reader flipping pages.