Kate Rhodes (1) (1964–)

This is the second book in the author's crime series set in the Isles of Scilly, which I have read on my holiday there. I read it quickly and as a page-turning thriller it is effective, but had the same mixed feelings about this as its predecessor; while there was an appealing general feeling of life on the islands, there too many errors (e.g. Round Island, St Helen's and Tean are not the Eastern Isles of Scilly; the waters do not "plummet for hundreds of metres between most of the islands"; and there are not flocks of grazing sheep on Tresco). Again, the volume and types of crime that the plot involves are simply unrealistic in terms of the real Scilly and I simply cannot take it seriously in this context. I also found the final revelation of the killer(s) rather unlikely and, unless I am going mad, there was a major unresolved plot thread and unanswered question - what happened with Mike Trellon??

I am home from Scilly now so the following books will wait until a likely visit next summer.… (more)

This is the first in a series of modern day crime novels set in the beautiful Scilly Isles off the coast of Cornwall, one of my favourite holiday destinations, indeed where I am currently on holiday at the time of finishing this book and writing this review. I have some mixed feelings about this. The Scilly setting was well described and redolent of the colour of life on these islands, but also contained some glaring errors, e.g. mentioning landing on the (non-existent) landing quay on the uninhabited island of Samson, and a reference to the first daily crossing on the Scillonian ship to Penzance being at noon (the one and only trip of the day leaves St Mary's at 4.30pm). I also found the basic plot of the novel unrealistic in terms of whether this sequence of events could really take place in such a small community as Bryher and was unimpressed with the final unveiling of the killer. I will keep reading the series though purely because of the Scilly setting and I feel some personal sympathy with the central character.… (more)