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  • Published: 24 June 2025
  • ISBN: 9781787637344
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $38.00

Murder Below Deck





Below Deck with murder, the highly-anticipated second novel in the addictive cosy crime series from acclaimed food writer and Masterchef semi-finalist, Orlando Murrin.

Worse things happen at sea…

Paul Delamare has been roped into accompanying his old friend on a luxury cruise aboard the magnificent superyacht Maldemer. It’s all plain sailing until his friend’s priceless necklace is stolen, and everyone falls under suspicion.

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.

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.

  • Published: 24 June 2025
  • ISBN: 9781787637344
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $38.00

About the author

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 is President of the Guild of Food Writers. An ever-popular guest on TV and radio, he presents the BBC Good Food Podcast with Tom Kerridge. 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 Knife Skills For Beginners is his debut novel. You can find Orlando on Twitter @orlandomurrin, Instagram @orlandomurrinauthor or on Facebook. His website is www.orlandomurrin.com.

Also by Orlando Murrin

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Praise for Murder Below Deck

If Agatha Christie were to go on Masterchef, this novel would be the result.

Clare Pooley

Praise for Orlando Murrin:

-

I loved the combination of crime and cookery - and how Orlando uses the one to enrich the other (and vice versa). I can see this developing into a wonderful series with memorable recurring characters.

Andrew Taylor

I found Orlando’s style forensic and precise, yet at the same time deeply perceptive... the characters were an expertly crafted blend of the sweet and dark, like the perfect salted flapjack. If Ruth Rendell had teamed up with Delia Smith they’d have produced something like this.

J. M. Hall

Orlando Murrin’s personality is sprinkled throughout the pages... It’s warm, it’s humorous, it’s different from anything I’ve read before. If you’re into cosy crime, this one is irresistible.

Mari Hannah

Dazzlingly sharp with a wit that sparkles off the page. . . a dish to be savoured and re-ordered again and again.

Jane Corry

A deliciously dark slice of murder and mystery. Funny and fun, frightening and charming.

Chris Whitaker

A delicious treat with a sweet filling of murder and mystery. I’ll definitely be back for seconds!

Antony Johnston, author of The Dog Sitter Detective

Delicious fun! ...Intriguing and mouth-watering, starring a charming hero you’ll want as your best friend.

Tess Gerritsen

Funny, and at times unexpectedly moving, this thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery is packed with interesting recipe ideas, fascinating culinary facts and some jolly useful cooking hacks.

Guardian

This fun cosy crime novel is deliciously good!

Sun

An addictive read.

Woman's Own

Murder Below Deck is like drinking a cocktail of wit, spicy observation, intrigue and the delicious unknown. Orlando Murrin writes with skill and panache – rather like his legendary cooking.

Jane Corry, Sunday Times bestseller

An absorbing read, and I didn't guess the murderer!

Faith Martin, multi-million-copy bestseller

I really did enjoy it immensely. To use a culinary metaphor, this is a lovely mille-feuille of a book, with all its multi layers; delightful three dimensional personalities, and complex plot. All mixed together with Orlando Murrin's charming zany style it results in a very good book indeed.

Sally Smith, author of A Case of Mice and Murder

Set on a luxury yacht with crew and guests as suspect as each other, Chef Paul Delamare takes to the (very) high seas for this rollicking crime mystery.

Ruth Watson, author and broadcaster

A delicious serving of murder at sea, with a tasty garnish of cooking tips and a generous sprinkling of laugh-out-loud humour. Orlando Murrin knows exactly how to satisfy a reader’s appetite!

Lesley Kara

The most perfect book to read over Christmas! An absorbing and addictive cosy crime read that I adored. It should give Richard Osman a run for his money! Fast, fun and deliciously witty, this is a fabulously enjoyable murder mystery.

C. J. Carver

Orlando Murrin’s story telling had me turning page after page after page – I devoured the novel in two days flat. Sit back and savour this cracking new tale of murder, mayhem and things that go splash in the night.

JM Hall

This is a fun, fast-paced mystery with real heart. The super yacht setting is irresistible and the writing so compelling that, in places, I was rolling with the waves as I read! Overall, I was blown away by how vividly Orlando portrays the glamorous, quirky and surprisingly murky world of the excessively wealthy.

Jessica Bull, author of Miss Austen Investigates

Orlando Murrin has done it again! All aboard the Maldemer for a delicious murder mystery - as satisfying as a rich bouillabaisse, and with wit sharper than a chef's knife. Paul Delamare is an inspired creation and it was a joy to spend time with him again in this original and sassy crime caper on the high seas.

Elizabeth Delo, author of Becoming Liz Taylor

Fans of culinary mysteries with a glamorous edge are in for a treat with Chef Paul Delamare’s latest adventure on the high seas…From tennis pros and private detectives to stowaways and scandalous secrets, Murder Below Deck is a darkly comedic locked-boat mystery packed with clever twists, intrigue, and deliciously entertaining thrills. Poseidon Adventure Cocktail, anyone?

Hannah Dennison

Murder Below Deck is a delicious cosy crime caper that will have any reader returning for seconds! I found it thoroughly entertaining, so well-observed and very witty. More please!

Nikki Smith

Orlando Murrin has put together the perfect dish - a murder mystery on a luxurious superyacht written with the sharp edge of a chef’s knife.

LT Shearer, bestselling author of The Cat Who Caught a Killer

This really was a pleasure. It's such a playful, entertaining riff on the traditional Golden Age detective novel - a great cast of suspects, all with deliciously unpleasant motives, and a truly brilliant setting...I love the warmth of Orlando's writing, which adds so much depth to the fun.

Nicola Upson, bestselling author of the Josephine Tey mysteries

Enormous fun from start to finish, I adore chef Paul Delamere’s brilliant observational humour and expert sleuthing skills. He’s the kind of main character you’d want to be friends with, and this entertaining follow-up to Knife Skills for Beginners felt like a wonderful mix between Glass Onion and Death and Other Details, with the added flavour of a chef’s unique perspective.

Kristen Perrin, author of How to Solve Your Own Murder

Murder Below Deck is huge fun. With a colourful cast of love-to-hate characters and non-stop action above and below stairs, this murder mystery kept me entertained from the first page to the last.

Emylia Hall, author of the Shell House Detectives series.

This second cosy mystery from former MasterChef contestant and chef-hotelier Murrin is even more delightful than his debut…Enormous fun, it is a mystery written with great elan.

Daily Mail

This 'Agatha Christie meets Below Deck' mash-up is such an uplifting tonic, it should be prescribed on the NHS.

Heat

An entertaining, cosy mix of Christie-esque criminology, cookery, and crimebusting.

Bishop's Storford Independent

Delightful...packed with wit and culinary digressions.

Sunday Times

If Agatha Christie were to go on Masterchef, this novel would be the result.

Clare Pooley