The plot: the Les Chats Noirs bookstore of Marzio Montecristo has been chosen as the "floating bookstore" for an exclusive event: the famous crime writer Aristide Galeazzo, one of the most beloved and controversial authors in the Italian landscape, will write the final chapters of his new novel Blood Maestral aboard a cruise ship. The publishing house Polpicella has organized a tour that will circumnavigate Sardinia, stopping at the major ports. At each stop, readers will board to attend presentations under the stars and return to land with a signed copy. The reference to Murder on the Nile is evident, and the publisher's marketing plays off this. Marzio, however, is not at all enthusiastic—he detests Aristide Galeazzo—yet the bookstore is navigating rough waters, and this is an opportunity not to be missed. Thus, the bookseller embarks on the venture, bringing along Inspector Caruso, the next member of the Tuesday "investigators" book club, and the two feline mascots, Miss Marple and Poirot. Marzio imagines a somewhat pleasant vacation, but the trip will take an unexpected turn: a murder shakes the idyllic atmosphere of the cruise. No one can leave the ship, the suspicion grows, and the tension is palpable. It will be up to Montecristo to put years of detective reading to use in confronting a killer with a brilliant mind, convinced of having committed the perfect crime. Piergiorgio Pulixi signs an irresistible thriller, infused with suspense and irony, that pays homage to the great classics of mystery, transforming readers into the true protagonists of this crime cruise.
