Cold Grave

The sixth gripping installment in the series of crime novels to feature forensic pathologist Anya Crichton, from the newest heir to Cornwell and Reichs. It feels like the safest place on earth, a family-friendly, floating palace. But, as Anya Crichton soon discovers, cruise ships aren't all that they seem. Statistics tell us that a woman is twice as likely to be sexually assaulted on a cruise ship than on dry land. Customers aren't screened, so the ships are a haven for sex offenders and paedophiles. With no policing, and floating in international waters, sexual assaults and passenger "disappearances" are uncommonly frequent. So when a teenage girl is discovered, dead on the deck of the ship that she is on, Anya feels compelled to get involved. There's no apparent cause of death, but Anya's forensics expertise uncovers more than the ship's doctors can—or want to. With the killer still on board, and subsequently a crew-member found shot, it becomes clear that the safe haven of the cruise-ship is actually anything but. And, as Anya comes under increasing pressure to abandon her investigations, will she continue? Or do whatever it takes to keep her own family safe?