Agent X: The Celebrate Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway of Cruise to Death

About the Book

Book: Cruise to Death

Author: Sara L. Jameson

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: June 1, 2021

When opera singer Riley Williams agrees to sub as a musical-theater performer on a luxury Rhine/Moselle riverboat cruise, she gets more than she bargained for. Not only must she come up with 250 Broadway songs, she is required to dance with the male passengers. Dance—the subject she nearly failed in her Conservatory courses, and the cause of her recent flop in a European Opera House. To make matters worse, she overhears two terrorists at a café in Antwerp, Belgium, discussing the transfer of deadly agent X to the highest bioterrorist bidders.

Interpol agent Jacob Coulter, an anti-terrorism desk analyst in Brussels, Belgium, insists on serving as an undercover agent after his best friend Noel is murdered by terrorists from the Brussels cell he infiltrates. Shortly before Noel dies, he manages to tell Jacob snippets of the terrorists’ plans. Plans that seem to involve the same riverboat cruise Riley is on. When Interpol learns of Riley’s encounter with terrorists, Jacob’s supervisor insists he work with her to identify the terrorists and retrieve agent X. But their relationship is fraught with distrust because of Riley’s suspicious past and a romantic attraction neither of them wants.

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Book Review

An opera singer. A riverboat cruise. Terrorist plot. Undercover Interpol Agent. All of that combined spells for an intriguing, heart-pounding novel. All of which is what drew me to reading this novel.

I did love the setting, it was quite unique, especially for a suspense novel. And I absolutely love the idea of an opera singer as a main character, especially as we get to know a little bit more about her and her past. And there were some scenes that were action-packed and suspenseful. But if I am to write an honest review, I must be honest. I had a really hard time getting into this novel.

First of all, I felt Jacob and Riley could have been more careful, especially given the high stakes of their situation. Their conversations were often easy to overhear, and they frequently disregarded the need for discretion—texting and speaking openly about sensitive topics. As an Interpol agent, Jacob in particular should have demonstrated more subtlety, but he didn’t come across as especially well-suited for undercover work. His inability to stay emotionally detached from Riley—frequently shifting between being warm and distant—only added to that impression.

On that note, the romance, particularly in the beginning, felt rushed and unconvincing. Jacob’s sudden, intimate thoughts—like wanting to touch her hair—appeared without any real buildup, making their connection feel forced. This made their undercover romance dynamic feel clunky and a bit awkward. While it made sense for Jacob to be protective of Riley in a dangerous situation where trust was scarce, his bouts of jealousy over men she clearly had no romantic interest in felt misplaced and unnecessary.

Overall, this book had plenty of potential, with as I said, good suspense, specifically toward the end. And Riley’s background is interesting. Sara L. Jameson has some solid ideas and framework. Unfortunately, this book just fell a bit flat for me.

I had received a copy of the book as part of the Celebrate Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review.

About the Author

Sara L. Jameson won Scrivenings Press’s grand prize publishing contract in January 2021. They released her debut romantic suspense novel, Cruise to Death, in June 2021. Death in High Places, (Book 2 in the Troubled Waters series), released February 2023, followed by Vengeance in Vienna, July 2024.

In real life, Sara is a multi-published, former university professor who writes non-fiction under her real name and edits book manuscripts for other authors. She also pens WWII historical novels. When not at her computer, she enjoys reading, swimming, cooking, dog-sitting, and spending time with friends.

More from Sara

For someone who loves to swim and enjoys cruising on a ship as long as land is in sight, a European riverboat cruise solved my anxiety. Cruise to Death was conceived during a Uniworld cruise that originated in Antwerp, Belgium, where my family had lived twenty-fives years prior and fallen in love with the country.

But the lack of security on the cruise concerned me. Especially when our ship docked parallel to another cruise line, and all passengers passed through the other boat to disembark and re-embark without staff scrutiny. Perfect place for someone not on your cruise to hide, right?

Perfect fodder for a romantic suspense novel. Add in a pickpocket who craftily robbed a family member, and a budding novelist determined the crime wouldn’t go unremembered. You know those writers’ T-shirts warning you whatever you say and do might end up in a novel—sometimes it’s true.

Part of the fun writing this story was a chance to retrace the stops along the Rhine and Moselle rivers and stay in settings that appear in the novel. If you have a chance to take a riverboat cruise, I highly recommend it!