“Decadent apocalyptic cruise sails into a thrilling mystery”

Booklife Reviews

Available October, 2025

Cover Art

The Story

The nearby star Betelgeuse is about to explode, an event whose consequences for life on Earth are uncertain. Hugo Evans, an American art historian living in London, receives an invitation from a man he has never met, reclusive artist Rothesay Ambrose Urquhart, to an “end-of-the-world” Mediterranean cruise aboard the meticulously restored prewar motor yacht Mulvane. There are twelve guests in total, all strangers to one another, and also to their host. 

Early in the voyage, one of them is lost overboard. It is not clear if this was an accident, a suicide, or a murder. Another passenger, sharp-witted lawyer Oriana Welles, recruits Evans to help her investigate.

“Brace…excellently weaves many threads—the end of the world, curiosity surrounding Urquhart, the eccentricity of the voyage he hosts, the abandon that dictates most of the tour—to form a compelling narrative. Despite juggling apocalyptic anxiety, artistic rebellion, and Mediterranean decadence, Brace never loses sight of the central plot: a murder mystery set against humanity’s final days. While the world may remember the cruise for its provocative calendar, Evans and his fellow passengers will remember it for far more sinister reasons—and therein lies the heart of this captivating novel“

BOOKLIFE REVIEWS

Hardcover, paperback, and eBook, 340 pages

Available globally at good bookstores and online retailers from October 2025