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John Boyne has taken a true crime event and imaginatively re-created it.

Dr Harley Crippen existed and was married to a shrew, Cora. He was under her thumb constantly. Crippen worked in a homeopathic medicine pharmacy in London. His assistant was Ethel LaNeve. She existed too. They fell in love.

The publisher's book description tells us that Cora Crippen was murdered and her dismembered body found in the cellar at 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden.

Crippen and LaNeve have fled to Canada, voyaging on the SS Montrose captained by H. G. Kendall. Kendall suspects two of his passengers to be Crippen and LaNeve (who are cleverly disguised) and informs Scotland Yard. A chase over the sea ensues.

Supporting this story are some interesting characters also travelling on the Montrose.