Chickens have been dying under mysterious circumstances, and a lawyer hires Cecil Younger to stake out her chicken coop. After three days of unsuccessful surveillance in wet salmonberry bushes, the private investigator is seriously rethinking his career goals. The cruise director is short on details but some controversy surrounds the ship's doctor. Walters asks Younger to check it out discreetly, in exchange for free passage and a wide open bar tab. Sounds like a deal, except the bar tab dries up after the first night, and Younger's quarters on board the converted cargo ship aren't so luxurious.
Discretion is forgotten as the private investigator runs into immediate danger.
This is John Straley's fifth Cecil Younger mystery. The unnatural party atmosphere of the cruise ship combines with lethal undercurrents to make a surreal atmosphere for Younger to conduct his business. Straley's books are great fun. Descriptions of the various ports of call are hilarious. It's also a great town for crime.