Murder Takes a Vacation

“Mrs. Blossom had never been upgraded in her life.”

The first sentence of Murder Takes a Vacation introduces the protagonist and her status quo: In the eyes of the world (as well as her own), Muriel Blossom has never been regarded as special or glamorous. Convinced that she lacks attractiveness, spirit, and talent, she has been content to fade into the background, living unadventurously as a supporting character—rather than as a leading one—in her own life. The novel’s third-person narration reflects Mrs. Blossom’s own deflated sense of her subsidiary role by referring to her throughout as “Mrs. Blossom,” the name she acquired from her late husband. However, her floral married name hints at potential growth: a “blossoming” into a new, more expansive life, as a result of the novel’s events, developing the theme of Reclaiming Identity and Agency in Later Life.

“His kindness was the type of kindness shown to an incompetent. She wished it was something more.”

Attracting the eye of a handsome man on her transatlantic flight, Mrs. Blossom feels a spark of desire for the first time in decades. However, Allan’s chivalrousness, while gratifying, seems pitying rather than romantic, disappointing her hopes for a possible affair. Allan’s underestimation of Mrs. Blossom both fuels the novel’s plot and introduces the theme of