Death in a Deck Chair

Iris Cooper #1

by K.K. Beck

Young, innocent Iris Cooper, awarded a round-the world cruise by her doting and wealthy Aunt Hermione, is on the final lap of her voyage home. Her travels have prepared her for many of the types she meets on board: participants in a Balkan political intrigue, a vampy screen star, a muck-raking writer for a tattle-tale publication; a professor given to lecturing on the mind of the criminal lunatic; a prince who wants to be a jazz pianist. But she is not prepared for a murder. The captain recruits a reluctant Iris to take shorthand notes during the investigation, and soon Iris is on the trail of a dangerous murderer.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Historical, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Cozy, Historical Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published March 12, 1984

About the author

Kathrine Kristine Beck Marris (born 1950), known mainly by her pen name of K. K. Beck, is an American novelist. She has written over a dozen books, some of which were part of the Iris Cooper novel series and the Jane da Silva novel series.

An early novel of hers, Death of a Prom Queen (1984) was written under the pen name of Marie Oliver. She wrote a series of other novels, under the name K. K. Beck, such as The Revenge of Kali-Ra in 1999. One of her most recent works, The Tell-Tale Tattoo and Other Stories (2002) is a collection of short stories.

She lives in Seattle, Washington, and was married to the crime-writer Michael Dibdin, who died in 2007.

Series:
* Iris Cooper
* Jane Da Silva

Reviews

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021 bk 142. I had read this book many years ago (probably when it first came out) and had forgotten I even owned it until I was weeding my personal collection. As I could remember nothing about it, I picked it up again. This is a transatlantic murder mystery set in the 1920's amidst the turmoil of royals being thrown off of thrones and young people seeking greater freedom from guardian controls. I like Iris, the main character. It was a fun read - but having read it a second time I think it is time that it adventures out into the world and finds another reader.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun cozy mystery.
Looking forward to reading the 2 sequels that I found. Hopefully they
are just as much fun to read as this one.
Iris Cooper is a very intelligent and plucky heroine who's
on her way home from a world cruise with her Aunt Hermione.
The male characters who attempt to help solve
the murders in the book are bossy, and irritating. Especially Jack the
news man. Ditto for the piano man Paul.
Iris manages to hold her own and after 3 murders she finds
out who did it.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Beck's Iris Cooper mysteries. Set in probably the 1920's, 18 year old Iris is finishing a round the world trip with her aunt before starting at Stanford University. They are crossing the Atlantic on the final legs of their journey returning to Portland, Oregon. Iris wishes for more adventure and she ends up in the middle of a double murder, political intrigue involving an obscure Balkan country, and romance with two young men.

The tone is light hearted, though the plot line is serious. It is not overly complicated and easy, fun reading.

[Alison C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iris Cooper is a 19 year old girl in 1927, traveling by ship home to North America from England after a world tour with her Aunt Hermoine. Jack Clancy is a brash young newspaper man making his way home after covering a sports event in the UK. When a rather nondescript young man is murdered, the two pair up to solve the crime. Complete with dispossessed Eastern European royalty, determined anarchists, a British secret agent, this 1984-published cozy is great fun; I've already bought the other two in the series! (Read on vacation, so truncated review.)

[kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by this author!! The book I was reading, probably was from 1987 when it was published!! The writing is not too hard to understand, it’s not that ancient! Everything set on the ocean going ship and all the main characters are there! They have nowhere to run! It feels like an Agatha Christie novel figuring out who did it! It was your fun standard typical mystery. A bit of a surprise at the end. I’m always trying to figure out who did it in a mystery book. That’s half the fun!

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy cruise murder mystery from the early 20th century, with an amateur young woman sleuth and a brash American reporter to head up the zany group of characters. Fresh and fun and page turning, great for a bit of a break from heavy books and the surprise ending with how it all got figured out is worth the price of admission!

[Hello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, charming twist!

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally fun cozy. Great characters and the author has some really humorous lines. Had me cracking up out loud a few times. And the mystery was spot on. Some really good twists.

[Sharla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mystery light. It's not bad but very simplistic.

[Pamela Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun period cozy

Great read for a lazy summer day! Not too deep but with plenty of twists to keep the story interesting.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun whodunnit on board a cross Atlantic ship. Reminded me a bit of Nancy Drew mysteries!

[Paul Close · Rating 2 out of 5]

Characters more interesting than the investigation.

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Undemanding book with pleasant characters (although the whole plot about the royal intrigue was a bit trying) and a satisfying conclusion.

[Lindsay (LindsayReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

May found me struggling with a pretty epic book hangover after rereading my favorite mystery, Every Secret Thing. I’ll go into more detail about book hangovers later in the week, but I eventually found a cure while watching A Book Olive’s video, Spring 2017 Book Haul, Part 2: Fiction. (please check out her site as she is one of my favorite booktubers) Olive talked about picking up a few historical cozy mysteries by K.K. Beck and my interest was peeked. I started the first in the series, Death in a Deck Chair, on my Kindle that very night!

I am a fan of Beck’ Iris Cooper series. Death in a Deck Chair, finds 19 year old Iris returning to America via cruise ship after a around-the-world tour with her hilarious Aunt Hermione. I found Iris to be rather relatable and extremely likable; I enjoyed her intelligence, snarky whit, and unflapable curiosity. And I adore Aunt Hermione as well. I would have jumped at the chance of traveling the world with this woman and it’s obvious Iris inherited her spunk from her aunt. And don’t even get me started on Jack Clancy (you’ll hear more about him in the next few days!)
Each character was unique, with vibrant well developed personalities and each hiding their own secrets. It was easy to picture each of them sauntering along the upper ship decks by day and sneaking around the corridors by night. What’s even better is the lack of an insta-love story for Iris. Sure there is some flirting and the swapping of steamy kisses, but Iris doesn’t lose her cool over some good looking chap. She is there to find a killer!

My only negative point is that I wanted more. You will be able to read my review of the rest of the series, Murder in a Mummy Case and Peril Under the Palms, this week and my main complaint will be that I wanted just a little more from each story. I related with the characters and Beck provides decent descriptions, but I feel these stories would have better longevity just a few extra pages worth of detailed descriptions and enhanced development. The could just be a flection of the times as the book, though set in the 1920s-1930s, was written in the early 80s. *shrugs shoulder* Readers should also know thateven though I  didn’t figure out who-dunnit before the end, there were times where I easily guessed what would happen next. So, those wanting a novel that will keep them guessing at every turn should probably steer clear of this series. 

Death in a Deck Chair is a great start to a fun cozy mystery series and the perfect read for a racing summer day. Go ahead and pick up all the books, cause you won’t be able to put them down once you join Iris in solving the mystery! 

Are you a fan of K.K. Beck? Have you read any of the Iris Cooper stories? Let me know what you think!

Lindsay

Check out more reviews at HistoryMysteryBooks.com

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for something light and this book certainly fits the description with a plot bordering on silly. Nevertheless Iris Cooper is an appealing and intelligent heroine.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming Iris Cooper is on the last leg of her round-the-world travels, chaperoned by Aunt Hermoine, when she finds a murdered man in his deck chair. Since Iris knows shorthand, the captain and the few men who are helping him investigate co-opt her for the investigation. So does fast-talking journalist Jack, who talks in headlines and wants a scoop.

[Kathy Moberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very ordinary. Not terrible, but not gripping or terribly engaging either. I'd forgotten, but I read this series way back in the 1980s when it was new (I was fooled by the recent e-book publication date). I think I've become fussier...

[andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Engaging characters. Mystery a bit farfetched...felt reminiscent of 30's-40's screwball comedies plot...so hard to get too upset about any preposterousness. Better just to enjoy it for what it is...a lighthearted quick read that made me smile.

[Arlene Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun romp, highly enjoyable! I love cruise ship mysteries.

[Cathy Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

good mystery, murder on the high seas with a limited list of suspects

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay mystery not very engrossing.

[LJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DEATH IN A DECK CHAIR - Poor
Beck, K.K. - 1st in series

Very light, not well written.