Ships have long been an object of cultural fascination, due to both their massive size and their potential for massive problems (onboard and overboard!). Both cruise ships and swashbuckling pirate ships have frequently captured the American imagination. Once a luxury enjoyed by the upper classes, cruise ships are a vacation enjoyed by many today. Pirate ships are a popular trope of modern storytelling, with plenty of historical information to inspire authors and readers alike.
Feeling the call of the sea? From romance to murder, these titles offer readers a chance to sail away to another world.
MYSTERIES ON THE SEAS
- The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton – An heiress, a jewel thief, a smuggler, and a dead woman are on board a cruise liner heading to Havana. What could possibly go wrong?
- Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood (also available on Hoopla) – Socialite-turned-sleuth Phryne Fisher encounters jewelry thefts on a cruise ship headed to New Zealand in the 1920s. This is book fifteen in the Phryne Fisher mysteries series.
- Killer Cruise by Laura Levine – Writer Jaine Austen lands a teaching job on a cruise ship, but her focus soon turns to investigating a murder that has happened on board. Book eight of the Jaine Austen mysteries series.
- Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare – Trouble and murder follow Lena, a mixed-race night club singer from London, who is on board a cruise liner headed for New York City in the 1930s.
- Sea Storm by Andrew Mayne – A cruise ship explosion results in the arrival of Sloan McPherson and the Underwater Investigation Unit. They must find the eco-terrorist behind the explosion before another cruise ship is taken out. Book three in the Underwater Investigation Unit
- Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews – Amateur sleuth Meg Langslow and her grandfather are stuck on a broken-down cruise ship, which soon turns into the setting for a mysterious disappearance at sea. Book twenty-five in the Meg Langslow mysteries series.
CRUISE ‘SHIPS (LOVE/ROMANCE)
- Hearts Aweigh by Shannon S. Dunlap (also available on Hoopla) – Senior citizens on a cruise ship turn into matchmakers seeking to set up cruise ship childcare worker, Abby, and Spencer, a lawyer who is on the cruise with his young daughter. However, potential blackmail soon affects their plans.
- Total Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle – Hope and Felix meet during a ten-day cruise and romantic sparks fly. Will their blossoming love withstand secrets from the past and unexpected issues of the present?
- Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat by Sonya Lalli – Jasmine used to babysit Jake when they were younger. Now they’re two adults on a cruise with their extended Punjabi families who soon learn that they have more in common than they realized.
- Santa Cruise by Fern Michaels (also available on Hoopla) – Four lifelong friends go on a singles cruise together at Christmas, but they wind up going on their own journeys through life and love.
PIRATES AHOY!
- The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye: A Novel by Briony Cameron – This historical fiction novel is based on the purported legend of Jacquotte Delahaye, a queer woman of color who became one of the only female pirate captains to ever sail the Caribbean.
- Island Flame by Karen Robards – In this pirate romance, Lady Catherine Aldley is on a ship that is attacked by pirates. However, she is soon rescued by Captain Jonathan Hale, a legendary pirate who never takes captives and always escapes capture…until now.
- Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland – Avra, a former agent from the Ministry of Intelligence, turns to his on-again-off-again pirate ex-boyfriend, Teveri, for help when he needs to sell a stolen secret on the black market. Will they succeed and become wealthy or fail and face their doom?
- A True Account: Hannah Masury's Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself by Katherine Howe – Indentured servant Hannah Masury abandons her life in 1700s Boston by disguising herself as a cabin boy named Will, joining a pirate crew, and setting off to find treasure in the Caribbean. On a separate timeline in the 1930s, professor Marian Beresford comes into possession of Hannah’s diary and, over time, sees her own life and trials reflected back at her from Hannah’s accounts.
NAUTICAL NON-FICTION
- Cruising & Cruise Ships 2025 by Douglas Ward (also available on Hoopla) – A great informational book for those thinking about vacationing on one of 368 cruise ships on the seas. This guide is updated and released yearly by the same author and offers reviews, ratings, insight, and advice about the cruise ship industry.
- Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin – When the pandemic hit in 2020 and everything was shut down, the Holland America ship Zaandam was denied entry at multiple ports, resulting in a cruise with seemingly no end in sight. This is the true story of that ordeal from the people onboard who lived through it.
- Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal by Samuel Marquis – Written by Captain Kidd’s ninth-great-grandson, this book is a comprehensive history about Kidd’s life, reputation, and motivations and also provides information about how he was not a pirate criminal, but rather a pirate hunter turned political pawn.
- Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Jay Dolin – This book discusses the history of the Golden Age of Piracy in the Americas, which spans from the late 1600s to the early 1700s.
- Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt by Steven Johnson – This book explores 17th-century pirate Henry Every and how his piracy–and one attack in particular—had a lasting effect on the global economy in a variety of ways.