Page 87 of Fire and Ice Cruise

Fifty and fabulous indeed.

CHAPTER 29

Suddenly Hitched—What a Trip!

Hey there, mystery-loving readers!

We’ve officially wrapped up our Icelandic adventure aboard the Emerald Queen of the Seas, and I’m pleased to report that I survived volcanic steam, Arctic winds, and turning fifty—all in the same week.

I may live on a cruise ship, but I still had birthday plans—champagne, Northern Lights, and a dignified amount of chocolate lava cake. Instead I got a homicide, a floating reinvention seminar, and enough drama to light up a small Nordic country.

Apparently, milestone birthdays are magnets for mayhem.

Between geothermal hot springs, communal shower trauma at the Blue Lagoon (still processing), and chasing suspicious alibis across black sand beaches, this cruise delivered more surprises than I ordered. I witnessed the Northern Lights while actively hunting a killer, which I believe qualifies as advanced multitasking.

I also learned a few things. Never ignore Nettie when she insists someone is hiding something. Always trust Bess when she quietly narrows her eyes. And never assume that people selling reinvention at sea are telling the whole truth about who they used to be.

Most importantly, I discovered that fifty isn’t subtle. It’s bold. It’s unpredictable. It comes with champagne, chaos, and the kind of friendships that make even homicide investigations feel survivable.

As we sail onward, I’m celebrating not just another solved case, but stepping into this next chapter surrounded by my devastatingly handsome husband Ransom, my partners-in-chaos Bess and Nettie, Captain Wes, and our newest crew member Marina—who may or may not have secrets of her own.

If this is what fifty looks like, I’m ready.

Until next time, keep your hot springs steaming, your birthday candles blazing, and maybe think twice before boarding any cruise that promises personal transformation.

XOXO,

Trixie

P.S. We also solved a murder. I mention this only because it seems like the kind of thing you’d want to know before booking your next cruise.

Day 10: Reykjavik, Iceland

(Disembarkation)

Disembarkation day has a particular energy to it. Slow, reluctant, and tinged with the melancholy that comes from knowing something good is coming to an end.

Passengers move through the corridors as though they’re wading through honey, dragging suitcases behind them with expressions that say they’d rather be anywhere but heading home. It’s a case of travel anxiety mixing with genuine sadness.

Nobody wants to leave the ship.

Nobody wants to return to real life, where homicides don’t get solved over champagne and birthday cake.

I get it. I live here and I still feel it.

We’re lined up just in front of the gangway. Me, Ransom, Wes, Marina, Elodie, Bess, Nettie, and Tinsley, who’s hugging her electronic notebook to her chest the way other people hug emotional support animals.

It’s basically a crew tradition at this point, saying goodbye to passengers as they disembark, thanking them for sailing with us, and wishing them safe travels. It’s sweet and it’s exhausting, but one of the best parts of cruise ship life.

The throngs file past us with hugs, selfies, and promises to sail again soon. The Second Act Society members come through in waves, most of them looking stunned for a myriad of reasons. Their fearless leader is dead. Their co-founder’s husband is a murderer. Their transformative cruise experience came with a body count, and nobody saw that coming.

I’m not even sure the killer did.

But they’re smiling, hugging, and taking photos because what else do you do when your second act includes a Scandinavian murder mystery?

Nicolette appears in a sleek black pantsuit that hugs her every curve, wheeling a designer suitcase that matches her handbag.

“Ladies!” She stops in front of Marina and me, pulls us both into a hug that smells like expensive perfume and power. “If either of you ever needs a good divorce lawyer, you give me a call.”