May Contain Murder by Orlando Murrin Narrator: Sebastian Humphreys
Series: Chef Paul Delamare Mysteries #2
Published by Recorded Books on December 16, 2025
Source: Library
Genres: Mystery
Length: 10 hrs 13 mins
Pages: 384
Format: Audiobook
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Worse things happen at sea.
Paul Delamare has been roped into accompanying his old friend on a luxury cruise aboard the magnificent superyacht Mal de Mer. It’s all plain sailing until his friend’s priceless necklace is stolen, and everyone falls under suspicion.Every chef for himself.
As Paul races to catch the thief, the ship begins to drift off-course, veering into the storm-lashed mid-Atlantic. Then one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious circumstances, in a pool of coffee and surrounded by cake crumbs.Voyage of the damned.
It’s all hands on deck to catch the killer, but Paul soon discovers guests and crew are harbouring deadly secrets. And if he can’t get to the bottom of the mystery soon, he’ll be sleeping with the fishes.
Paul is invited to travel with Xéra, his good friend of fifteen years, on board a private yacht as they travel from England to the Caribbean. The trip is part pleasure, a celebration of her recent wedding, and part work – she wants Paul to write her biography and they plan to work on it together on board. The trip starts out poorly when Paul’s clothes are dropped in the water and his cabin located in the crew area. Xéra seems tense, which only increases when her priceless necklace, a present from her new husband, is stolen. And the other members of the trip, family and friends of the husband, are self-centered, unlikeable people.
I like Paul, I really do, which is why it annoys me that so many bad things happen to him here. I guess I should really list them, because that would probably ruin half of the plot, but it’s a bit over the top. It’s almost like the author thought of a bunch of bad things that could happen on a yacht and threw them all in.
I did guess who the killer was, but there were a couple of twists getting there. Paul might have known what was going on sooner, too, if he wasn’t so trusting.
There were a few recipes in the back that sounded good and doable. I did listen to the audio – the narrator did a great job, especially bringing Paul to life, which usually means I’ll never try the recipes. I need a paper copy to actually follow them. Happily, the author has the set of recipes on his website, along with photos of each. I’d have to convert them, but the mushroom and onion marmalade tartlets look delicious.
About Orlando Murrin
After being flung into the culinary limelight as a semi-finalist on Masterchef, Orlando Murrin edited Woman and Home, BBC Good Food and founded Olive magazine; then he switched track to become a chef-hotelier in SW France and Somerset.
He has written six cookbooks and received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Guild of Food Writers, its highest accolade. A popular guest on TV and radio, and at food and literary festivals, he is also a regular podcaster and podcast host.
From his grandfather, a Met detective who rose to become a crack MI5 interrogator, he inherited a fascination with crime and mystery. He lives in domestic bliss in Exeter, Devon, and has written two culinary crime novels: Knife Skills For Beginners and Murder Below Deck (published as May Contain Murder in Canada and the US). Knife Skills was shortlisted for McDermid Debut Award, Crime Fiction Lover Debut Award, CrimeFest Last Laugh Award and Fingerprint Debut Award.
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