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Crime Quiz, a cosy mystery on a cruise ship in Australia
Today at Salty Inspirations, author TJ Stanley shares how her own cruise experience inspired her novel, Crime Quiz. It’s a light and fun read about a ship full of sleuths and crime writers, and a crime or two needing to be solved.
So, what’s your one-line pitch to potential readers of Crime Quiz?
A social-lite, a social worker and a vicar meet in a bar…
OK. Lead in with a joke. You’ve got our attention, tell us more.
Molly is meant to be on her honeymoon. But her husband ran away.
Thomas is meant to be preaching. But the Bishop forced him to retire.
Lynette is meant to be in Aspen. But her doctor refused to let her fly.
Instead, they’re sailing on a five-day cruise that’s hosting a Crime Writers Conference.
And there’s a crime aboard – that isn’t fiction!
So where’s Crime Quiz set?
On a cruise ship called the Oceanic Wanderer which is sailing from Sydney to Hobart and back with a ship full of crime writers and wanabee sleuths.
Tell us about your novel.
Crime Quiz is a cosy mystery set on a cruise ship in Australia.
It’s the first novel I’ve written under my own name. Friends and family have been encouraging me to come out from under my nom de plume or pen name, Jane Ellyson for a while. And now I have.
By way of back story, last December I went on my first cruise.
Tell us a bit more about the cruise.
Well it departed from Sydney to Hobart and back via Oyster Bay. Conveniently, so did the cruise in Crime Quiz.
I travelled alone, and there were four other women who were also travelling alone and we met each evening at the same table for dinner and chatter. It was a wonderful and safe daily ritual and a regular scene in Crime Quiz.
Meeting every day this way, we developed quite the friendship. So I used the daily evening meal as a way to discuss and explore the day’s activities and strengthen the relationships between the passengers.
Tell us about the three main characters in the story.
Molly Jones Social worker. Based in Brisbane. 30 years of age. Meant to be on her honeymoon with Brad, but he dumped her. This is her first cruise. She like to read love stories.
Thomas Martin. Minister as in was Reverend Martin until he took early retirement. Lives in Sydney. 59 years of age. He like to read police procedural novels.
Lynette Lawrence is a retired magazine editor. Lives in Sydney. 85 years of age. Drinks a lot. On her 25th cruise. She likes to read Agatha Christie novels.
Do you have a favorite character?
Probably Lynette Lawrence, but please don’t tell her.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
A cruise ship is a contained space and a perfect setting for a mystery, as the guilty party cannot easily escape.
I have my friend Debbie to thank for the idea for the opening scene in Crime Quiz. She’d just returned from a cruise off the coast of Western Australia, where the passengers were woken at five in the morning by an announcement from the captain that five people had died overnight.
At first, I didn’t believe her. Who would do that? I then laughed, before thinking about all the gossip that must have spread faster than a pandemic the following day. It got me thinking, and then, when a week later I went on my first cruise, which happened to be hosting a literary festival, the idea took on a life of its own.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
It’s always best to visit a place that is the setting for your story. This provides the opportunity to observe the small things, which, for this novel, was the detail of the dining room table settings, the clinking of cutlery, or the sound of a string quartet on the stairwell near the library. There’s also the Daily Program of events to review on a cruise. I also benefited from taking a tour to Mount Wellington, a very chilly experience, and walking around the city center of Hobart, both of which featured in the Crime Quiz.
As an author, you note how you’re feeling. I remember being exhilarated as the ship I was on departed Sydney Harbor on a clear sky as the sun was setting. I tried to reflect these feelings and bring this wonderful experience onto the written page.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
I do a great deal of online research, even if I’ve visited the location. Aren’t Google and YouTube wonderful!
In Crime Quiz, I needed to learn what a behind-the-scenes tour of a ship would look like, as I didn’t have time to do it on the cruise I was on. There were a few wonderful videos online that made it feel like I’d been on the tour.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
Obviously, I hope they’ll read it and then tell me what they thought. They may even have their own curious cruise story to share with me. I’d love to hear from them and can be reached by email at tracy.stanleyu21@gmail.com
What do you want people to be saying when they turn the last page?
That it was fun, light and enjoyable; perfect holiday reading – particularly if you’re going on a cruise.
I also hope that readers appreciate the insights into cruise operations, crime scene investigations, and popular crime stories.
I’d love to hear from readers who used some of the tips around how to write a crime story in the plotting of their own.
Thank you, T.J!
Crime Quiz: Cosy Mystery on a Cruise
by TJ Stanley
About Crime Quiz
Crime Quiz: Cosy Mystery on a Cruise
Cosy (Cozy) Mystery
Setting – On a cruise from Sydney to Hobart in Australia
Publisher : Stanley Press
Publication date : September 26, 2025
Paperback
Print length : 198 pages
ISBN-10 : 1763510050
ISBN-13 : 978-1763510050
Digital
ISBN-13 : 978-1763510043
ASIN : B0FL53FVV6
Molly should be on her honeymoon, but her husband had disappeared.
Thomas should be preaching, but the bishop had other ideas.
Lynette should be in Aspen, but her doctor refused to let her fly.
Instead, they’re sailing on a five-day round trip between Sydney and Hobart.At 5.00am on the fourth day of the cruise, Captain Jonas Strong announces that five passengers have died overnight.
Were this a cruise with the usual guest profile, such news may have caused a temporary flutter of nerves before being forgotten. But the Oceanic Wanderer was hosting a Crime Writers’ Conference with hundreds of amateur sleuths who were now wondering, if there was more to the announcement than they were being told.
Was there a murderer among them?
CRIME QUIZ delivers a cosy-mystery caper in a cruisy setting.
About TJ Stanley
Tracy Stanley has been in love with storytelling since she left university in 1984.
In 2017, she started publishing, and as of August 2025, Tracy has independently published fifteen books across five genres, including business books, travel memoirs, cosy mysteries, romantic suspense, and action-adventure novels. These last two genres have been written under the pen name of Jane Ellyson.
Her writing approach for novels recognizes that creativity in storytelling comes from mixing the familiar with a twist, combining comfort and intrigue.
Tracy is Australian and lives in Brisbane.
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✨ Many thanks to T.J. Stanley for sharing her cozy mystery here on Salty Inspirations! This one’s definitely going on my TBR list. And since I’m a sucker for cruise ship mysteries, since you might know, I’ve written one too!
As always, thanks for stopping by for some Salty Inspirations!
