Cross-genre literary novel of spy-game intrigue and star-crossed lovers, on a Caribbean cruise, told in flashback by a 21st century female sleuth. In 1983, the cold-war era, a warm, romantic adventure on a small, exclusive ship, easily masks cold reality of high-stakes espionage. As Leigh McCormack inadvertently becomes embroiled, she is confronted by one cover story layered upon yet another. Why? She is reminded of Matthew Arnold’s 19th century poem (same title as this novel) about man “tricked in disguises” with important existential questions. But what is the ship’s mystery so carefully concealed in 1983? Only one fact seems certain: Leigh and the Love of her Life are on a fatal collision course. Her Lover had been careful to ensure her safety until the unexpected: an explosion at sea! Suddenly her sleuthing is no longer harmless. In jeopardy, she is betrayed by an older statesman she had idolized; haunted by bits and pieces of classified secrets; obsessed by solving the mystery. Safety depends on her never learning the last vital piece of the puzzle. But now, in 2001, that final fatal puzzle piece is about to be revealed. Knowledge will be peril. Can her Beloved, out of her past, be her salvation?
Novel for those who love cruising. For those who have fond memories of what it used to be like decades ago and memories of many Caribe Islands and for those who wonder what it used to be like. It is also a "coming of age" story insofar as the heroine/sleuth begins as an Idealist and in the course of the story becomes a Realist (what George Bernard Shaw preferred in his heroines.)
