Perish in Paradise

Perish in An Iris May Mystery

Ten years ago, a luxurious family outing on Lake Granite ended in tragedy when Stacy Underwood, wife of real estate tycoon Charles Underwood, mysteriously disappeared. Now, as the SS Paradise sets sail, echoes of that fateful day resurface, pulling Iris May, a woman seeking solace on her cruise, into a web of secrets, lies, and unexpected danger.

When Iris stumbles upon Charles Underwood’s lifeless body in the ship’s pool, her peaceful vacation takes a sinister turn. Haunted by memories of her late husband, who was the lead detective on Stacy’s unsolved case, Iris feels compelled to unravel the truth behind Charles’s death. As old scandals are dredged up and past enemies emerge from the shadows, Iris must navigate treacherous waters where nothing is as it seems.

In this gripping first installment of the Iris May Mysteries, Perish in Paradise blends cozy charm with a tantalizing mystery, taking readers on a thrilling voyage where the past refuses to stay buried, and the stakes are deadly.

Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers’ Favorite
Review Rating: 5 Stars

Iris May, the wife of a deceased detective in Orlando, thought she would have a good time vacationing on the SS Paradise, a luxury ship cruising the Atlantic. Little did she know this was far from the truth. Aboard the boat is a group of unsuspecting vacationers linked to the scandalous past of Charles Underwood, a real estate tycoon. Ten years ago, Underwood’s wife had mysteriously disappeared. Iris’s husband had been the lead detective on the case but had died without closing it. The public speculation about the case claimed that Underwood had been caught cheating on his wife and had killed her to protect his wealth from a divorce. It did not help that his administrative assistant had died shortly after in a hit-and-run. As the ship sails off on its voyage, the paths of these people cross and the strangest thing happens. Charles Underwood is murdered. Among the passengers are a reporter, Underwood’s administrative assistant’s spiteful daughter, and an escort, all of whom had a bone to pick with Underwood. Could any of them have murdered him? Iris is determined to get to the bottom of this and close the case her husband died working on. Can the stay-at-home wife of a deceased detective solve this mystery? Find out more in Christian Wright’s Perish in Paradise.

Lovers of mystery murder novels will not peel their eyes off Christian Wright’s Perish in Paradise until the last page. Wright slowly unfolds this intriguing plot wrapped in a tangled web of mystery. Reading the book felt like I was playing an enthralling game. Whenever I thought I had solved part of the puzzle, I would be slapped with cliffhangers and plot twists that made me wary of the bigger picture. The edge-of-the-seat suspense hooked me, leaving me turning page after page. Wright breathed life into the scenes with colorful and vivid depictions, making me feel like I was in the scenes, watching every character wallow in the thick mystery enshrouding the ship. This book will have you creating an evidence board, giving you the thrill of hunting for the prime suspect as you sift through the deceptions and secrets of the cast. Wright brings out the cast’s emotions, allowing me to connect with them. When a man with as many skeletons in his closet as Charles Underwood dies, it takes a clever investigator to unmask his killer.