Death on the Lusitania
R.L. Graham
Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 978-1035021918
400pp.

RL. Graham is the collective nom de plume of a husband-and-wife team who were experts in World War I scholarship (tragically, the wife passed away from cancer while this book was being written). The couple (who, for convenience’s sake, I will simply refer to as the author Graham) brings their considerable academic expertise into creating an Agatha Christie-style locked-room mystery.

The book lives up to its reputation in that its setting of 1915 (smack in the middle of the Great War of 1914-1918) is delineated with marvellous authenticity. Graham situates the action on board the RMS Lusitania, a famous luxury liner that was historically torpedoed by a German U-20 submarine off the coast of the United Kingdom as it was nearing the end of its trans-Atlantic voyage from New York to the UK.

The book’s protagonist, Patrick Gallagher, who ostensibly works for the British Paymaster General’s Office, is charged with conveying the former British vice-consul in New York, Harry Chalfont, safely to the UK. Chalfont is suspected of being a major German spy, and virtually every other major character in the novel also has a complex past. It appears likely that a German-American named Charles Schurz, who is a notable engineer with a sound knowledge of arms and armaments, may also be a spy for the Germans.

Meanwhile, William Ripley, a theatrical impresario whose plays have failed consistently, appears to be in desperate need of money. Edwin Franklin, an American industrialist as rich as Croesus, the Lydian king, comes across as a very overbearing character. He is second in unpleasantness, however, to the businessman James Dowrich, who seems to have an unsavoury hold over many of the other characters.

A historical novel about murder, set at the time of WWI on board a British ocean liner eventually sunk by a German submarine, is a gripping read

An element of diversity is introduced by means of a Mexican couple, Señor and Señora Lopez, who have apparently fled Spain and have got themselves embroiled in General Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa’s war against the Mexican government. Villa, though not a character in the book, is central to some major elements of the plot as he and his forces, comprised of Mexican rebels, were being aided in his insurgency efforts by the US government.

In addition to the males, Dolly Markland, the wife of a rich man who is currently serving as a Canadian army officer, is portrayed as a reflective and brooding lady who seems to have a haunting, dark past.

No one is particularly surprised when the unpleasant Dowrich is found murdered in his cabin. Captain William “Bill” Turner, who is at the helm of the Lusitania, turns over the investigation to Gallagher, since the latter is, in actuality, a skilled undercover agent for the UK government. A shrewd and capable individual with superior powers of detection, Gallagher is baffled by how anyone could have killed Dowrich, especially since the door to his cabin is locked and the key is clearly within. He does eventually succeed in providing a satisfying solution to the mystery, but not before another passenger is killed. Undaunted, however, Gallagher solves that case as well.

The book is written in a clear and lucid fashion and, given Graham’s expertise, is admirably free of anachronisms and the types of errors that plague the efforts of less erudite writers. Indeed, although I am a die-hard fan of Agatha Christie’s work, I must confess that this text is a cut above Christie’s novels when it comes to the handling of a much broader historical canvas than those found in the work of the ‘Queen of Crime’.

At no point whatsoever does any member lose track of the fact that their world is in a serious state of war. Threatening and grim, the atmosphere gradually builds up over the course of the novel, to the point at which the ill-fated Lusitania gets torpedoed. In spite of Edwin Franklin’s boasts that the liner would remain protected in war-torn marine space, Graham ensures that the novel follows the course of history closely, albeit fictionally, in terms of the sequence of events.

The lifeboat lurched again, crunching into the deckhouse bulkhead and grinding another deckchair to sawdust under its keel. Gallagher climbed on to the rail and stood, balancing against the roll of the ship. “Throw me the rope!” he called to the nearest seaman. The man hesitated for a moment, then threw the free end of the heavy manila rope. Gallagher caught it in his outstretched hand just as the ship rolled back the other way. A woman screamed. The lifeboat slid across the deck and smashed into the rail just as Gallagher jumped down on to the canvas cover. — Excerpt from the novel

Although elegantly written, the book is as subversively frightening as a Stephen King novel. One of the main subplots involves Gallagher trying to figure out if artillery shells containing deadly gas are being carried in the cargo hold of the Lusitania. Anyone who is familiar with the ugly graphic imagery portrayed in Wilfrid Owen’s famous poem Dulce Et Decorum Est will appreciate how horrific gas-related casualties (due to chlorine and phosgene) were in World War I.

Graham handles the interplay between characters very well when it comes to such issues. Schurz possesses the requisite scientific background to understand the manner in which these special weapons work. Señor and Señora Lopez are far less innocent than they profess to be when it comes to a knowledge of the significance of armaments, and Gallagher is too intelligent to ever trust the shifty Chalfont completely regarding any issue. Although Señor Lopez is a brilliant pianist in terms of profession, his life’s personal music score resonates with much darker undertones, metaphorically speaking.

Graham skillfully ties up all the loose ends at the end of the book, while presenting the reader with a good mystery and a superlative historical novel. The Lusitania has a special emotional significance for Gallagher, whose main romantic interest, a talented actress named Roxanne, had lost her life on the ship some years ago. Although he does not let his emotions affect his judgement, the author outlines his memories of her in a way that is genuinely poignant.

Markland’s fate and background, too, are especially tragic, a point that is further underscored by her gender. Women are depicted as especially vulnerable in this book, which is hardly surprising given that it is set in the early 1900s. Men in powerful patriarchal positions, such as Dowrich and Franklin (and even the bumbling Ripley), take it for granted that their gender confers on them the ability to treat women with contempt at best and downright brutality at worst.

In aggregate, Death on the Lusitania is an excellent period piece and will appeal to fans of both history and mystery alike.

The reviewer is Associate Professor of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts at the Institute of Business Administration. She has authored two collections of short stories, Timeless College Tales and Perennial College Tales, and a play, The Political Chess King

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, January 4th, 2026