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Five Passengers from Lisbon
Hardcover and Jacket. First edition, First Printing. 1946. Random House New York. Gilded Lettering on spine. 7.8 x 5. 3 x 0.7 inches.Poor fragile jacket on edges, Note in flap.242 pages and a little cloth marks on back cover. Otherwise very good condition Book. Quick and safe shipping. (Please see all of the pictures and edition year) 2-Mar-M-26.
242 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1946
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105 people want to read
About the author
Mignon G. Eberhart
152 books73 followersMignon Good (1899-1996) was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. She studied at Nebraska Wesleyan University from 1917 to 1920. In 1923 she married Alanson C. Eberhart, a civil engineer. After working as a freelance journalist, she decided to become a full-time writer. In 1929 her first crime novel was published featuring 'Sarah Keate', a nurse and 'Lance O'Leary', a police detective. This couple appeared in another four novels. In the Forties, she and her husband divorced. She married John Hazen Perry in 1946 but two years later she divorced him and remarried her first husband. Over the next forty years she wrote a novel nearly every year. In 1971 she won the Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America. She also wrote many short stories featuring banker/amateur sleuth James Wickwire (who could be considered a precursor to Emma Lathen's John Putnam Thatcher) and mystery writer/amateur sleuth Susan Dare.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 13, 2025
Five people who had been trapped in Europe during World War II get the chance to escape quickly by taking a rust-bucket of a liner, Lerida, headed to Buenos Aires but before they know it, the ship is in the middle of a storm, likely to sink and their only hope is using a life raft and hoping that there is a ship near them.
This story begins with three women sitting together, waiting. Will they be able to get on a life raft before the ship sinks? Will there be a nearby ship able to pick them up? They are beginning to think that they will die that night.
But fate throws them a lifeline and the five passengers, aboard the life raft, along with three crew members, are rescued by a U.S. Army hospital ship sailing back to the states with wounded solders. But their worries are not over. While they have been rescued, one among them has died and one of those rescued is a murderer.
This story is like a wild out-of-control roller coaster — there are a lot of twists and turns — and it all seems to surround Marcia Colfax, an American engaged to a Michel "Mickey" Banet, a pianist who had been freed from Nazi capture and is traveling on a fake passport. The other passengers are Luther and Daisy Belle Cates, well-known international travelers; and a woman named Gili. All met in Lisbon for the sailing and now all their secrets are coming out as officers on the mercy ship investigate the initial and later deaths. Sailing in the midst of the ocean, no one seems safe. And there seems to be no way to get closer to the truth.
An interesting premise and intriguing mystery thriller.
This story begins with three women sitting together, waiting. Will they be able to get on a life raft before the ship sinks? Will there be a nearby ship able to pick them up? They are beginning to think that they will die that night.
But fate throws them a lifeline and the five passengers, aboard the life raft, along with three crew members, are rescued by a U.S. Army hospital ship sailing back to the states with wounded solders. But their worries are not over. While they have been rescued, one among them has died and one of those rescued is a murderer.
This story is like a wild out-of-control roller coaster — there are a lot of twists and turns — and it all seems to surround Marcia Colfax, an American engaged to a Michel "Mickey" Banet, a pianist who had been freed from Nazi capture and is traveling on a fake passport. The other passengers are Luther and Daisy Belle Cates, well-known international travelers; and a woman named Gili. All met in Lisbon for the sailing and now all their secrets are coming out as officers on the mercy ship investigate the initial and later deaths. Sailing in the midst of the ocean, no one seems safe. And there seems to be no way to get closer to the truth.
An interesting premise and intriguing mystery thriller.
June 13, 2017
I read this out loud to my parents and to make the book more readable I skipped all the description of irrelevant detail. One thing I did learn is another lesson in good writing, but first the storyline:
WWII has just ended and Europeans and Americans are scrambling to get out of Europe to North or South America as fast as possible to bury the past and start over. We are introduced to five such people.
Luther and Daisy Belle Cates: millionaires who stayed in France throughout the war, even though they are American. Why? Will we find out?
Gili: A European woman from unsure origins and even less sure morals. We do not know what she did to survive the war but it probably wasn't pretty.
Mickey: A man who had a rising promising career as a concert pianist before the war. He became a part of the French resistance before getting captured by the Nazi's and held in a concentration camp until the end of the war. To torture him they mutilated his fingers.
And our protagonist who also serves as our third person limited narrator:
Marcia Colfax: Marcia is an American living in Paris and she fell in love with Mickey before the war. When he was captured, she was determined to wait it out until he was released, a big assumption on her part. She moved to Marsailles, and, when the war ended, she and Mickey meet up again, only now he is Andre Breton and she mustn't forget it, because his passport says so.
All five of our characters have purchased passage on a Portuguese carrier to South America which is where the story starts. Unfortunately for them, the boat is sinking and they find themselves on a lifeboat with three Portuguese sailors in the dead of night in the middle of the Atlantic trying to negotiate stormy waves, each of which threaten to overturn their boat.
Finally dawn turns the sky to gray and also shows an American Red Cross ship heading toward them. All is saved!
Except for one. One of the Portuguese sailors collapses after fighting the waves all night with an oar.
Or so it seems. After everyone boards the Red Cross Ship it is discovered that the Sailor is dead and not from exhaustion. He has been murdered and the knife in his back proves it.
Who on board the lifeboat murdered him? And why? That is what the rest of the story leads you to (um.. to who did it and why).
The mystery was good enough to hold one's attention but the unnecessary description of every item in a room, of how everyone was dressed, the color of the skin, how one always bit her lip, how the captain furrowed his white eyebrows or studied the painting across the room etc...
And the smoking! It seemed after every paragraph our characters had to take a smoking break and we get to read about it from the pulling the cigarette from the package to the lighting to the exhaling to the flinging the butt over the rails.
If what you're describing does not propel the plot forward leave it out. At least that is the most valuable thing I received from reading this novel.
This book was written in 1946 so the war was still painfully fresh in people's minds, and the characters, how each are revealed to be a certain type that existed during the war is interesting. Some are desperate to erase their cowardly acts, others are appalled to find themselves on the losing side after they invested so much in that side and others were just innocent victims that managed to weather the storms of war. I felt Eberhart could have done to develop these characters more rather than bore the reader with minutia.
WWII has just ended and Europeans and Americans are scrambling to get out of Europe to North or South America as fast as possible to bury the past and start over. We are introduced to five such people.
Luther and Daisy Belle Cates: millionaires who stayed in France throughout the war, even though they are American. Why? Will we find out?
Gili: A European woman from unsure origins and even less sure morals. We do not know what she did to survive the war but it probably wasn't pretty.
Mickey: A man who had a rising promising career as a concert pianist before the war. He became a part of the French resistance before getting captured by the Nazi's and held in a concentration camp until the end of the war. To torture him they mutilated his fingers.
And our protagonist who also serves as our third person limited narrator:
Marcia Colfax: Marcia is an American living in Paris and she fell in love with Mickey before the war. When he was captured, she was determined to wait it out until he was released, a big assumption on her part. She moved to Marsailles, and, when the war ended, she and Mickey meet up again, only now he is Andre Breton and she mustn't forget it, because his passport says so.
All five of our characters have purchased passage on a Portuguese carrier to South America which is where the story starts. Unfortunately for them, the boat is sinking and they find themselves on a lifeboat with three Portuguese sailors in the dead of night in the middle of the Atlantic trying to negotiate stormy waves, each of which threaten to overturn their boat.
Finally dawn turns the sky to gray and also shows an American Red Cross ship heading toward them. All is saved!
Except for one. One of the Portuguese sailors collapses after fighting the waves all night with an oar.
Or so it seems. After everyone boards the Red Cross Ship it is discovered that the Sailor is dead and not from exhaustion. He has been murdered and the knife in his back proves it.
Who on board the lifeboat murdered him? And why? That is what the rest of the story leads you to (um.. to who did it and why).
The mystery was good enough to hold one's attention but the unnecessary description of every item in a room, of how everyone was dressed, the color of the skin, how one always bit her lip, how the captain furrowed his white eyebrows or studied the painting across the room etc...
And the smoking! It seemed after every paragraph our characters had to take a smoking break and we get to read about it from the pulling the cigarette from the package to the lighting to the exhaling to the flinging the butt over the rails.
If what you're describing does not propel the plot forward leave it out. At least that is the most valuable thing I received from reading this novel.
This book was written in 1946 so the war was still painfully fresh in people's minds, and the characters, how each are revealed to be a certain type that existed during the war is interesting. Some are desperate to erase their cowardly acts, others are appalled to find themselves on the losing side after they invested so much in that side and others were just innocent victims that managed to weather the storms of war. I felt Eberhart could have done to develop these characters more rather than bore the reader with minutia.
July 28, 2023
Five passengers board the Lerida as it departs Lisbon. The second World War has just ended, and the passengers are heading to Buenos Aires as passage to America is not available. A calamity forces everyone to abandon the Lerida in very rough, dark and cold seas. A lifeboat holds five passengers and three seamen, who must fight for survival in the heaving waves and impenetrable darkness. As hope dims, the Magnolia - a Red Cross hospital ship - spots their distress flare. They are rescued, but one of their number is dead. It wasn't the cold or the water that killed him; it was a knife in the back.
The remainder of the book is set on the Magnolia, the culture and operation of which is nicely detailed by Mignon G. Eberhart (who also writes a sweet foreword in tribute to wartime Red Cross ships). The story is told from the point of view of one of the Lerida survivors, Marcia Colfax, who finds herself in a floating nightmare as the killer is not going to stop with one murder.
This is a well-written mystery, filled with suspense, red herrings and a unique setting. It is also a time capsule of sorts as it captures quite well the immediate post-war atmosphere through the dialogue and emotions of the characters. The story kept me guessing, as I had no idea who or what was behind the chaos. It all quite nicely made sense at the end. I can see Eberhart becoming one of my favorite writers.
The remainder of the book is set on the Magnolia, the culture and operation of which is nicely detailed by Mignon G. Eberhart (who also writes a sweet foreword in tribute to wartime Red Cross ships). The story is told from the point of view of one of the Lerida survivors, Marcia Colfax, who finds herself in a floating nightmare as the killer is not going to stop with one murder.
This is a well-written mystery, filled with suspense, red herrings and a unique setting. It is also a time capsule of sorts as it captures quite well the immediate post-war atmosphere through the dialogue and emotions of the characters. The story kept me guessing, as I had no idea who or what was behind the chaos. It all quite nicely made sense at the end. I can see Eberhart becoming one of my favorite writers.
August 7, 2025
A wartime shipboard gothic mystery. Monica, the main character and usual point of view, is pretty useless, generally. But there is a surprising amount of spooky action on the fogbound ship, and a neat twist or two at the end. Great for shipboard. Nazis are always bad.
September 5, 2019
Major characters:
The five passengers on the lifeboat:
Marcia Colfax, our protagonist
Mickey Banet, a.k.a. André Messac, a concert pianist; her fiancé
Luther Cates
Daisy Belle Cates, his wife
Gili Duvrey
Crew of the Lerida on the lifeboat:
Alfred Castiogne, doomed
Manuel Para
José Urdiola
Crew on the hospital ship S. S. Magnolia:
Captain Lars Svendsen
Colonel Josh Morgan, a patient
Colonel Wells, a doctor
Locale: on the Atlantic Ocean
Synopsis: WWII has just ended in Europe. Five people in Lisbon, Portugal are anxious to get out of Europe the fastest way possible, and book passage on the freighter Lerida, bound for Buenos Aires - rather than have a long wait for passage direct to the US. They are Marcia Colfax and her fiancé Mickey Banet (who is travelling under the name/passport of Frenchman André Messac for an undisclosed reason), wealthy Luther and Daisy Belle Cates, and beauty Gili Duvrey. The Lerida runs into trouble in a storm, and goes down. The five passengers and three of the crew take to a lifeboat.
Mickey was a concert pianist before the war, but the Nazis injured his fingers while he was in a concentration camp.* Marcia and Mickey try to keep his true identity (Mickey Banet) a secret from Captain Svendsen just to keep things simple.
One of the crewmen, Alfred Castiogne, collapses just as the lifeboat is intercepted by the hospital ship Magnolia. When they get him aboard, he is already dead - stabbed in the back. The murderer had to have been one of them in the lifeboat, and now they are all on the hospital ship. Captain Svendsen tries to find the murderer, but the murderer is not done yet.
Review:
Atmosphere. A ship creeping across the Atlantic in a thick fog with a murderer aboard. There is a small pool of suspects - just the five passengers - and one of them must be the murderer. I had the opportunity to read this while sitting on a Maine beach with ships visible on the horizon, a perfect setting for a mystery read. Of course, it was daytime, no fog, and I was quite safe on land.
The book features the usual Eberhart love triangle - the innocent protagonist (Marcia Colfax), the fiancé who is all wrong for her (Mickey Banet), and a newcomer who is perfect for her (Josh Morgan).
John Morgan is the character who is a bit puzzling - he is a patient yet he has the run of the ship and the ear of the officers. I expected him to turn out to be something else, but he remained a patient.
The mystery patient walking around, unable to speak, head swathed in bandages with only his eyes showing, seemed a bit typecast at first but did develop into a believable person.
A great read - but not one to take on a cruise.
* For another mystery involving a concert pianist who has suffered a hand injury and is unable to play again, see Deep Lay The Dead by Frederick C. Davis.
The five passengers on the lifeboat:
Marcia Colfax, our protagonist
Mickey Banet, a.k.a. André Messac, a concert pianist; her fiancé
Luther Cates
Daisy Belle Cates, his wife
Gili Duvrey
Crew of the Lerida on the lifeboat:
Alfred Castiogne, doomed
Manuel Para
José Urdiola
Crew on the hospital ship S. S. Magnolia:
Captain Lars Svendsen
Colonel Josh Morgan, a patient
Colonel Wells, a doctor
Locale: on the Atlantic Ocean
Synopsis: WWII has just ended in Europe. Five people in Lisbon, Portugal are anxious to get out of Europe the fastest way possible, and book passage on the freighter Lerida, bound for Buenos Aires - rather than have a long wait for passage direct to the US. They are Marcia Colfax and her fiancé Mickey Banet (who is travelling under the name/passport of Frenchman André Messac for an undisclosed reason), wealthy Luther and Daisy Belle Cates, and beauty Gili Duvrey. The Lerida runs into trouble in a storm, and goes down. The five passengers and three of the crew take to a lifeboat.
Mickey was a concert pianist before the war, but the Nazis injured his fingers while he was in a concentration camp.* Marcia and Mickey try to keep his true identity (Mickey Banet) a secret from Captain Svendsen just to keep things simple.
One of the crewmen, Alfred Castiogne, collapses just as the lifeboat is intercepted by the hospital ship Magnolia. When they get him aboard, he is already dead - stabbed in the back. The murderer had to have been one of them in the lifeboat, and now they are all on the hospital ship. Captain Svendsen tries to find the murderer, but the murderer is not done yet.
Review:
Atmosphere. A ship creeping across the Atlantic in a thick fog with a murderer aboard. There is a small pool of suspects - just the five passengers - and one of them must be the murderer. I had the opportunity to read this while sitting on a Maine beach with ships visible on the horizon, a perfect setting for a mystery read. Of course, it was daytime, no fog, and I was quite safe on land.
The book features the usual Eberhart love triangle - the innocent protagonist (Marcia Colfax), the fiancé who is all wrong for her (Mickey Banet), and a newcomer who is perfect for her (Josh Morgan).
John Morgan is the character who is a bit puzzling - he is a patient yet he has the run of the ship and the ear of the officers. I expected him to turn out to be something else, but he remained a patient.
The mystery patient walking around, unable to speak, head swathed in bandages with only his eyes showing, seemed a bit typecast at first but did develop into a believable person.
A great read - but not one to take on a cruise.
* For another mystery involving a concert pianist who has suffered a hand injury and is unable to play again, see Deep Lay The Dead by Frederick C. Davis.
July 13, 2025
Entertaining mystery about eight people, five passengers and three seamen, who are rescued from a lifeboat by a passing Red Cross hospital ship headed toward America soon after the end of World War II. But rescuers discover that one of the seamen on the lifeboat was murdered, stabbed in the back, the novel's primary mystery. But the killing has only just begun.
The book was published in 1946, so it’s rich in postwar details, and the atmosphere on board the Red Cross ship is richly observed.
The story is told from the point of view of Marcia Colfax, who was traveling with her fiancé, who survived a Nazi concentration camp. They were headed from Lisbon to Buenos Aires when their cargo ship sank, resulting in their later rescue by the passing Red Cross hospital ship. The story involves murder, blackmail, a priceless diamond, Nazi collaborators, and stolen identity. In terms of romance, there are two overlapping love triangles that both involve the protagonist despite her being as bland as a plain bagel.
Overall, it's nicely done, if a bit dated and sexist. I would have preferred if the protagonist had a sturdier spine, more personality, and a bit more intelligence, but alas novels tend to reflect the culture in which they were written. Consequently, Marcia is a pathetic doormat who apparently prefers that other characters, mostly men, do the thinking for her. It’s funny how often sexist novels are written by women.
This was my first novel by Eberhart, who's relatively unknown today but in the Thirties and Forties was one of the bestselling, prolific, and enduring American mystery writers. She published 59 novels between 1929 and 1988 and received a Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1971.
The book was published in 1946, so it’s rich in postwar details, and the atmosphere on board the Red Cross ship is richly observed.
The story is told from the point of view of Marcia Colfax, who was traveling with her fiancé, who survived a Nazi concentration camp. They were headed from Lisbon to Buenos Aires when their cargo ship sank, resulting in their later rescue by the passing Red Cross hospital ship. The story involves murder, blackmail, a priceless diamond, Nazi collaborators, and stolen identity. In terms of romance, there are two overlapping love triangles that both involve the protagonist despite her being as bland as a plain bagel.
Overall, it's nicely done, if a bit dated and sexist. I would have preferred if the protagonist had a sturdier spine, more personality, and a bit more intelligence, but alas novels tend to reflect the culture in which they were written. Consequently, Marcia is a pathetic doormat who apparently prefers that other characters, mostly men, do the thinking for her. It’s funny how often sexist novels are written by women.
This was my first novel by Eberhart, who's relatively unknown today but in the Thirties and Forties was one of the bestselling, prolific, and enduring American mystery writers. She published 59 novels between 1929 and 1988 and received a Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1971.
July 24, 2023
I had read this book years ago and remembered that I liked it and was glad that I re-read it. It starts after WWII when passengers on a Portugese ship have to abandon it as it is sinking and the main character Marcia Colfax and four other passengers end up in a life boat with 3 crew members and after a harrowing time in the water battling the waves they are rescued by an American hospital ship. Marcia is surprised by how they are treated but discovers that one of the crew was murdered and she is one of the suspects. The officers on the ship want to know why she was traveling to Buenos Aires and that you know that her companion Mickey Banet is traveling with a passport for another man, Andre Messac. She keeps on calling him Mickey and urging him to tell the authorities the truth and he, a pianist who had been tortured by the Nazis and didn't want anyone to know about his past as a famous pianist, refuses. There is also an American couple who are famous and a woman who could be French but is definitely hiding something.
There is more murder and Marcia has two attempts made on her life. I didn't trust Mickey and when he was in his cabin with Gili you didn't blame Marcia for being jealous. The captain she met, Josh Morgan, was just the type of man you would want to get to know and he is definitely suspicious of most of the others. I admit that there was a point made that I had totally missed and this led to me not guessing who was guilty and shocked me. At least the bad guys got what they deserved and you knew that Marcia and Josh would get together.
There is more murder and Marcia has two attempts made on her life. I didn't trust Mickey and when he was in his cabin with Gili you didn't blame Marcia for being jealous. The captain she met, Josh Morgan, was just the type of man you would want to get to know and he is definitely suspicious of most of the others. I admit that there was a point made that I had totally missed and this led to me not guessing who was guilty and shocked me. At least the bad guys got what they deserved and you knew that Marcia and Josh would get together.
September 6, 2024
Um romance policial que tem muito que se lhe diga. Em primeiro lugar, está bem escrito e bem traduzido, duas circunstâncias que infelizmente são muito mais raras do que seria desejável. Por outro, é um livro sobrelotado de preconceitos e imprecisões: o cargueiro português, cujo o nome é "Lérida" (!?) é uma casca de noz tão imunda quanto insegura, o terceiro oficial do cargueiro, chamado Alfred Castiogne (!?) é corrupto , ganancioso e tresanda a a alho, os dois marinheiros portugueses que embarcam na baleeira com ele e que se chamam Manuel Pará e Urdiola (!?) são ambos brutos e estúpidos, o pianista francês é fraco e pérfido, a compatriota que ele "encontra" em Lisboa é uma oportunista sem escrúpulos, etc. Em contrapartida, o navio-hospital norte-americano que recolhe os náufragos é modelo de higiene e eficiência, onde tudo é bonito e perfeito, e todos personagens dessa nacionalidade são no fundo pessoas civilizadas, dignas e probas (mesmo aquele que se vem a revelar ser o assassino que só age como tal porque está desesperado…). Por fim, Eberhart deixa escusadamente que a acção do romance se alongue, esmoreça, e que os mistérios se amontoem e, quando chega o momento de os esclarecer, não resiste à tentação de multiplicar as soluções possíveis, de introduzir "complicações" na intriga que, tal como acontece com as dos relógios suíços só pretensamente servem para valorizar o produto final.
March 17, 2025
A passenger liner is torpedoed, during WWII. Five passengers and two crew members make it onto a lifeboat. They are rescued by an American Hospital ship - but when they are rescued, it is discovered that one of the crew members in the lifeboat is dead - murdered - and it must have been someone in the lifeboat that did it. Intriguing premise, I thought. And sort of a locked-room scenario, as it must have been someone in the lifeboat that did it. It was a fascinating premise, but the story itself was a bit drawn out and our heroine seemed to be in denial. Girl, when your man insists on using a dead man's passport and that dead man's name instead of his own, he is up to no good. Not a spoiler, this name thing is revealed in the very beginning of the book, with our heroine insisting he fess up to authorities and him saying no. Our heroine also seemed to be in denial that someone was trying to kill her, and kept going out on deck alone (no girl, no!) which provided someone with an excellent chance to get her again. It was all explained in the end, and there was one plot twist at the end that I did not see coming at all, but somehow I wasn't satisfied with it as a whole cohesive book. This one took me a while, as I was toting it around in my car to read on errands.
January 18, 2025
This was my first read of 2025, and it did not disappoint!
5 passengers are rescued from a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. However, one of them is a killer. What connects these passengers? And how does a mysterious military man tie into all this? Who’s lying?
I did enjoy this book. I thought it was much darker than the usual Golden Age mysteries, but I didn’t mind that.
I found the characters to be very realistic, and particularly despised Gili, as intended.
The plot really kept me on my toes too. I couldn’t guess the twist, and everyone had a secret to hide. The main character was also pretty realistic. She was no-nonsense and ready to find the truth. I also liked the captain, who was very responsible and not incompetent like most authority figures we see in mystery novels.
The setting of the boat also gave off really cool locked room vibes.
5 passengers are rescued from a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. However, one of them is a killer. What connects these passengers? And how does a mysterious military man tie into all this? Who’s lying?
I did enjoy this book. I thought it was much darker than the usual Golden Age mysteries, but I didn’t mind that.
I found the characters to be very realistic, and particularly despised Gili, as intended.
The plot really kept me on my toes too. I couldn’t guess the twist, and everyone had a secret to hide. The main character was also pretty realistic. She was no-nonsense and ready to find the truth. I also liked the captain, who was very responsible and not incompetent like most authority figures we see in mystery novels.
The setting of the boat also gave off really cool locked room vibes.
June 8, 2020
This book was a good summer time read. I don’t normally read historical fiction books or murder mysteries, but this book was a good combination of both. I liked the development of the characters and it was not a predictable story. I will say, I had some difficulty reading some parts as it was written in the 1950s, but that doesn’t take away from the story. Would recommend for anyone looking for a quick yet satisfying mystery read.
May 29, 2021
You won't put it down
I love a good mystery and this is one of the best I've read in a long time.
Post WW2, and a small group of people need to leave Europe. But each has their own secrets and you find it hard to know who to trust. So you are kept on the edge of your seat until the author finally reveals all. And then it's so clear.
This is the second book I've read of Mignon Eberhart. It definitely will not be the last.
I love a good mystery and this is one of the best I've read in a long time.
Post WW2, and a small group of people need to leave Europe. But each has their own secrets and you find it hard to know who to trust. So you are kept on the edge of your seat until the author finally reveals all. And then it's so clear.
This is the second book I've read of Mignon Eberhart. It definitely will not be the last.
June 3, 2022
An okay example of the golden age mystery, interesting because it is set aboard a hospital ship underway, not an often used setting. The writing is fluid and easy to read. The puzzle is fairly presented, although the love-angle was a little too pat, and tended to give away some of what was coming. The solution also proved a little convoluted and depended on a coincidence that was sort of a stretch.
May 5, 2019
fast moving with an admirable heroine
I have always enjoyed Eberhart's mysteries and this is one of the more entrancing ones. The post world of as2 is fascinating and makes me so grateful I live in the second decade of this century instead of the evil, vicious cruelty connected with the Nazis. February's heroine is such an admirable character.
I have always enjoyed Eberhart's mysteries and this is one of the more entrancing ones. The post world of as2 is fascinating and makes me so grateful I live in the second decade of this century instead of the evil, vicious cruelty connected with the Nazis. February's heroine is such an admirable character.
February 16, 2020
A Real Whodunnit
This is the first Mignon Eberhart book I’ve read; very well written. There were so many twists and turns, that it was impossible to figure out who done it; really a good read, even though very much of the post war period, it didn’t take away from the structure of the story.
This is the first Mignon Eberhart book I’ve read; very well written. There were so many twists and turns, that it was impossible to figure out who done it; really a good read, even though very much of the post war period, it didn’t take away from the structure of the story.
February 24, 2021
Murderous Passengers from Lisbon
This story Is excellent, well written and keeps you engaged. It's a murder mystery that keeps you guessing all the way to the end. When you find out what happened, everything is explained and you see the pieces of the puzzle clearly and accurately. I'd like to read it again from the beginning knowing the ending to enjoy it again differently.
This story Is excellent, well written and keeps you engaged. It's a murder mystery that keeps you guessing all the way to the end. When you find out what happened, everything is explained and you see the pieces of the puzzle clearly and accurately. I'd like to read it again from the beginning knowing the ending to enjoy it again differently.
April 3, 2020
Pretty good
I liked the world war 2 background and the scenes about life aboard a "mercy ship" we're interesting and moving. Heroine was not as silly as in some mysteries. Was mostly surprised at the end.
I liked the world war 2 background and the scenes about life aboard a "mercy ship" we're interesting and moving. Heroine was not as silly as in some mysteries. Was mostly surprised at the end.
January 14, 2018
Just kind of flat and not nearly as suspenseful as some of her other novels, points for the setting though
August 20, 2019
Another very solid WWII era mystery from Ms.Eberhart.
February 27, 2020
So twisty and turny! Great mystery.
January 24, 2021
Read years ago. I’m just realizing how many books I have read that involve shipwrecks/lifeboats!
July 29, 2021
Enjoyable. Will look for more of her books.
November 17, 2025
a clever mystery; perhaps a bit dated but a fun read.
October 18, 2016
Found this book at a library fundraiser sale, cost me 50¢.
No gore, no sex, no foul language, However did she write such a good murder mystery? Well, first of all, it was written in 1946, (that tells you something, good morals and good sense), and secondly, when you have a good story to tell, one doesn't need all the peripheral garbage to hold the reader's interest.
I'm glad I bought another one of Mignon Erberhart's mysteries that day. Looks like my dollar, helped two causes: the library and my reading enjoyment.
No gore, no sex, no foul language, However did she write such a good murder mystery? Well, first of all, it was written in 1946, (that tells you something, good morals and good sense), and secondly, when you have a good story to tell, one doesn't need all the peripheral garbage to hold the reader's interest.
I'm glad I bought another one of Mignon Erberhart's mysteries that day. Looks like my dollar, helped two causes: the library and my reading enjoyment.
June 28, 2015
This is excellent! "Five Passengers from Lisbon" was published in 1946 and there is a strong feel of World War II hanging over it. Marcia Colfax, her fiance Mickey, the mysterious “wharf rat” (Mickey's term) Gili, Luther and Daisy Belle Cates, and three seaman (including third mate Castiogne) abandon a sinking cargo boat and board a lifeboat. I was reminded of the stories I've heard about the Titanic and Lusitania – the horror of the survivors (and near-survivors) waiting in lifeboats and dealing with the elements that might just kill them before they can be rescued. For Luther Cates there is a bit of deju vu – his father was on the Titanic.
Fortunately, they are rescued by a Red Cross hospital ship, the Magnolia. However, only seven of them are alive – Castiogne is dead. At first, the others on the lifeboat think he has died from exposure – but he was stabbed. It is obvious that one of the survivors on the lifeboat killed him, but which one?
The captain of the Magnolia launches an investigation into the murder. The last thing he wants is to endanger the passengers on his ship – wounded veterans returning home. He rescued Marcia Colfax and her companions, so he feels responsible for bringing a killer on board.
This was a well-written, suspenseful tale with interesting characters. I thought the connection between Colonel Morgan, Mickey, and Marcia was a little coincidental, but that's a minor caveat. This is really one of MGE's best books. I don't know why more movies weren't made from her books, especially this one.
Very recommended.
Fortunately, they are rescued by a Red Cross hospital ship, the Magnolia. However, only seven of them are alive – Castiogne is dead. At first, the others on the lifeboat think he has died from exposure – but he was stabbed. It is obvious that one of the survivors on the lifeboat killed him, but which one?
The captain of the Magnolia launches an investigation into the murder. The last thing he wants is to endanger the passengers on his ship – wounded veterans returning home. He rescued Marcia Colfax and her companions, so he feels responsible for bringing a killer on board.
This was a well-written, suspenseful tale with interesting characters. I thought the connection between Colonel Morgan, Mickey, and Marcia was a little coincidental, but that's a minor caveat. This is really one of MGE's best books. I don't know why more movies weren't made from her books, especially this one.
Very recommended.
March 11, 2012
World War II in Europe has just come to an end. Five desperate people want to leave Europe as soon as possible--they don't mind buying their passage on a Portuguese cargo ship. They just want to get out. But they don't expect the ship to sink. Or to be set adrift on the ocean in a lifeboat with three crew members. Or to be rescued by an American Red Cross ship--only to find that one of the crew members has been murdered.
The rescue ship's captain has his work cut out for him. There doesn't seem to be any way to prove who took advantage of the storm-tossed sea to do away with the third officer of the Portuguese ship. And there doesn't seem to be any motive. Before the story is over there will be two more murders and two murderous attempts and more than one secret will be revealed. And, of course, with the story having been written in 1946 there are Nazis involved. But can you, the reader, discover the culprit before all is revealed?
Mignon Eberhart's short crime novel is characteristically full of suspense with a little bit of romance thrown in. There are plenty of clues and red herrings--and I changed my mind several times before the end. And, no, I didn't guess correctly. A good, solid three star story.
The rescue ship's captain has his work cut out for him. There doesn't seem to be any way to prove who took advantage of the storm-tossed sea to do away with the third officer of the Portuguese ship. And there doesn't seem to be any motive. Before the story is over there will be two more murders and two murderous attempts and more than one secret will be revealed. And, of course, with the story having been written in 1946 there are Nazis involved. But can you, the reader, discover the culprit before all is revealed?
Mignon Eberhart's short crime novel is characteristically full of suspense with a little bit of romance thrown in. There are plenty of clues and red herrings--and I changed my mind several times before the end. And, no, I didn't guess correctly. A good, solid three star story.
August 22, 2015
I remember reading Eberhart when I was younger and picked this book up and it was even better than I remembered. It takes place right after WWII and evokes the period wonderfully. One of the things I liked so much about it was the positive way America was presented. I have to admit that I am really tired of America-bashing and it was so refreshing to read something that viewed Americans in a largely positive light.
The mystery itself was done very well. After a tragic ship-sinking, the survivors in a lifeboat get picked up by an American hospital ship on its way back to the U.S. Unfortunately, as the survivors are brought onto the ship, they discover that one of them had been murdered in the lifeboat. So the captain of the hospital ship is left with the terrible task of determining which of the survivors killed one of their party.
I loved the way it really evokes the period and all the tensions that existed after WWII. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
The mystery itself was done very well. After a tragic ship-sinking, the survivors in a lifeboat get picked up by an American hospital ship on its way back to the U.S. Unfortunately, as the survivors are brought onto the ship, they discover that one of them had been murdered in the lifeboat. So the captain of the hospital ship is left with the terrible task of determining which of the survivors killed one of their party.
I loved the way it really evokes the period and all the tensions that existed after WWII. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
March 17, 2009
This is a clever book which takes place mostly on a Red Cross vessel going from Europe to the US at the close of WWII European theater. Five passengers and three crewmen are picked up from a life boat from a Portuguese cargo ship heading for Buenos Aires. One of the crew from the life boat is discovered to have been murdered. While the captain of the Red Cross vessel is trying to discover the murderer, there are several attempted murders and two more murders. Of course, as a book written in 1946, we also have some Nazi’s involved.
February 6, 2015
She's back
Finally, after so many years, I've got to read one of my favorite mystery writers again. Her books have been out of print for way too long. I believe this is the first time I've read this tome, and it was mighty good! It had me guessing (incorrectly, of course) who the murderer was. The book had a super surprise ending. Now, if only Phyllis A. Whitney books would be reproduced, I'd be even happier!
Finally, after so many years, I've got to read one of my favorite mystery writers again. Her books have been out of print for way too long. I believe this is the first time I've read this tome, and it was mighty good! It had me guessing (incorrectly, of course) who the murderer was. The book had a super surprise ending. Now, if only Phyllis A. Whitney books would be reproduced, I'd be even happier!
February 17, 2016
Mignon Eberhart was apparently called “America’s Agatha Christie” by a biographer, but there is a strong streak of Mary Rinehart Roberts in this suspenseful 1946 tale. After spending World War II in Europe, five Americans are headed to Buenos Aires on a small Portuguese cargo ship, the first step on their way home. The suspense starts with the first page, and the atmosphere and setting at sea are powerfully portrayed
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