Disaster Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Disaster Books
The Titanic Murders | (1999) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Hindenburg Murders | (2000) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Pearl Harbor Murders | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Lusitania Murders | (2002) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The London Blitz Murders | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The War of the Worlds Murder | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Disaster is a series of novels written by a bestselling American author of historical fiction, mystery & thrillers and comic and graphic novels. Collins began the publication of Disaster series in 1999 when The Titanic Murders the first book in the series was published. The series ran for six novels concluding when The War of the Worlds Murder was published.
The Titanic Murders
The Titanic Murders is the first book in Disaster series by Max Allan Collins. The novel introduces Jacques Futrelle one amongst the thousands of passengers who boarded the Titanic on 10th April 1912. Jacques is one of the many celebrated mystery writers of his time, and he was the creator of a famous detective known as the “Thinking Machine”- and was an inspiration of the heroic Agatha Christie.
He was amongst the over 1500 people who did not survive the sinking the mighty Titanic.
Were Futrelle’s crimes solving skills engaged in an onboard investigation? This arousing question has now sparked one of the greatest mysteries of the Titanic.
The first book in the series is an intriguing blend of fiction and facts that takes the reader on the maiden voyage on its doomed maiden journey across one of the largest oceans on earth. Based on the information provided by an incognito source that- two strange deaths occurred aboard the mighty Titanic before it sinking Max Allan Collins weaves a beautiful and an insightful tale of murder and mystery.
The story boasts a colorful cast of real-life passengers on the ship that includes millionaires, Ben Guggenheim, Jacob Astor, Isidor Straus and the eccentric Maggie Brown.
Just after the ship leaves the harbor, not long into the voyage, a body is discovered in a stateroom. The circumstances of the body look suspicious, and the head of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay who is also aboard the ship is dismayed by the thought that if a word about the death spreads, the Titanic’s reputation will be tarnished.
So Bruce requests Jacques, a prominent American mystery writer to employ his knowledge of criminology and investigate the death. The author agrees, and he enlists his wife May to help him but not long a second body shows up- and the maiden voyages seem to be cursed by deaths.
What makes this first book unique is the fact that the readers already know that The Titanic is doomed and that many of the people aboard will perish right even before reading the preface section. This irony is what makes the tale more compelling, as Jacques seeks to find the killer and prevent any more deaths, even as the times is ticking for the over 1500 people on the ship- including Futrelle himself.
Reading this series debut novel, the reader can clearly see that Collins did extensive research before publishing the book. This can be supported by the fact that the author has managed to incorporate so many historical details into the story that makes both the ship and the characters comes alive right in the reader’s imagination. Collins is a great storyteller and also a master of the historical fiction. The author’s extensive research includes historical accounts from the survivors of this maiden voyage, official investigation reports into the tragedy allowed him to give a detailed account of the fateful voyage.
The Hindenburg Murders
On a fateful day, 6th May 1937 to be exact, The Hindenburg, a German passenger airship burst into flames as its crew attempted to land it at Naval Airstation Lakehurst in New Jersey. A total of 36 people died in the crash 22 crewmen 13 passengers and one mooring worker on the ground.
Over the years many theories about the cause of this disaster that almost brought the world into standstill have been put forth, such as static electricity, sabotage, engine problems, lightning, leaking hydrogen amongst others. However, no definitive cause has ever been pinpointed since then.
This disaster changed the public opinion about the safety of airship travels and marked an end to that mode of transport.
The Hindenburg Murders takes the disruptive angle and formulates one of the best fictional mysteries surrounding the disaster. However, the plot does not make light of the historical accident or the deaths it caused, but instead, the author cleverly narrates a fictional account of what happened inside the ship that leads up to the disaster.
The well-known author, Leslie Charteris, the creator of the mysterious investigator known as The Sleuth is one of the passengers on the Hindenburg. Charteris had once enjoyed a maiden voyage a year before, and he is very happy to be traveling on the airship once again, even though he notices that the security on the airship has been heightened to almost ridiculous levels by the Nazis.
Once the voyage starts, Charteris is warned that his cabin mate is an undercover agent sent to filter out any any-Nazi behavior amongst the passengers. However, it is not long before his cabin mate disappears and all that is left of him is the man’s tie stuck in one of the airship windows. It dawns on Charteris that one of the crewmen or the passengers is a murderer, and the Nazi crew expresses fears of a possible time bomb or sabotage and requests Charteris to help them in their investigation of the killing.
Not only does Collin’s story give some interesting details about the ship itself but also the mystery part of the plot has some interesting and suspenseful twists and turns.
The other passengers aboard the airship are interesting as well, and are well developed and not just mere caricatures of the stereotypical social and political issues of the time before the Second World War. Their discussion revolves around politics, the Nazi regime, the fear of the state police, relations between countries and other topics that concerned the people of that era wonderfully hence adding depth and intrigue into the story.
The Hindenburg Murders is book two in Disaster Mystery series by Max Allan Collins. The series is made up of six novels, and each book can be read separate/stand-alone and revolves around the actual historical events and features either a famous actor or writer as the main character.
Book Series In Order » Characters »