Murder on the Lusitania - Tapa dura

September 1907. George Porter Dillman sets sail from Liverpool on the New York-bound Lusitania for its maiden voyage. Hired by the ship's captain to pose as a passenger, George is in fact sailing the high seas as a private detective for the Cunard Line. While on board, he expects to deal with only petty crimessome random vandalism, perhaps a scuffle or two in the bar - but then the ship's blueprints are stolen from the chief engineer's room and a man is killed in his cabin.
The murder victim is Henry Barcroft, a grating, nosy journalist who'd been covering the maiden voyage for a wire service and making a nuisance of himself among the other passengers. No one seems sorry to see him go, and George Dillman soon discovers that several on board even stand to gain from Barcroft's demise. Working quickly to solve the crime, George makes an unusual and spirited friend, Genevieve Masefield, and the two uncover secrets about their fellow travelers that prove explosive.