Hello, readers! We’ve reached the third volume of Canine Detective Chris.
In this volume, I switched things up significantly from the first and second book. The action is now taking place at sea. Hinata and Chris and their friends are on a luxury cruise ship!
Hinata’s classmate Mito is a celebrated violinist, despite only being in elementary school. One day, at her invitation, Hinata, Mayuka, and Chris board a cruise ship called the Primavera while it’s docked at port in order to hear her play.
However! What was supposed to be just a few hours on the ship turns into a much longer journey when they miss their chance to disembark and wind up in the Pacific, heading for Russia.
Even worse, the gang is accused of stealing an expensive violin. In order to prove their innocence, they’ll need to find the missing violin and the real thief.
Between the passengers and the ship’s crew, there are over two thousand suspects. This means that Chris’s trusty nose and Hinata’s logical mind can’t function as well as they have before. Where did the violin go? And who’s the real culprit…?
Have you ever been on a cruise ship? What? You took a trip on one over summer vacation? That’s really great. As for me, of course I’ve…never been on one! (LOL.)
But I did so much research in books and online for this story that I now feel as though I’ve taken several cruises. At some point in my life, I’d like to go on a real voyage around the world.
When you sail to a bunch of ports in all sorts of countries, you get to spend time with people from many different cultures. You’ll probably also spend time with passengers of all different skin, eye, and hair colors, all speaking different languages and observing different cultural practices and customs. Even the crew, as you’ll no doubt notice, come from a variety of backgrounds.
I hope you enjoy this cruise with Hinata, Mayuka, and Chris, packed with international flavor. Of course, I hope you’ll also enjoy the thrill of adventure and try your hand at solving the mystery, too.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our illustrator, KeG, for the dynamic front cover and all the illustrations that liven up the story. And thanks as well to my editor, Maho Yamaguchi, for suggesting we set the next story on a cruise ship! Thank you for all your help!
✦ ✦ ✦
Tomoko Tabe