The Gentleman Host: A Cruise Ship Nightmare

Dwight Norris
iUniverse (2008)
ISBN 9780595525904
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (5/09)


It is hard to believe that this is the first novel that Dwight Norris has written.  I found it to be well written with exceptionally developed characters.  The quality of the story reminded me of one of my all time favorite books – “The First Deadly Sin” by Lawrence Sanders.  Edward X. Delaney and sociopath Daniel Blank from “The First Deadly Sin” have nothing on retired police detective Dusty Flanagan and serial killer Derek Penhollow from “The Gentleman Host.”

Retired Chicago detective Dusty Flanagan and his wife are enjoying retirement in Southern California until Dusty’s old partner Sam Murphy contacts him for assistance with a case that he is trying to piece together.  Women have been disappearing from his cruise line over the past decade and Sam is not sure whether a crime has been committed or if the disappearances are just accidents.  No one has given this matter any time because there are no crime scenes or bodies to work with.  Dusty, a master martial arts teacher and primary caretaker to his diabetic wife, is torn about taking this case on because it will require a lot of his time and focus.  But when the killer makes his next move, Dusty becomes angry enough that he jumps into the case and goes after the killer.   

Meanwhile, the diabolical serial killer, a gentleman host for single women on a cruise, is making a game of throwing women overboard to their deaths.  He is running rampant aboard several cruise lines and it takes Dusty, Sam, a lot of research and some good old-fashioned luck to unravel the truth in this case.

This thriller, “The Gentleman Host,” will make a great summer read for the beach or a cruise.  I really hope that this is not the last that we have heard of Dusty Flanagan.  I look forward to future novels by Dwight Norris.

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