Graeme Kent

Ben Kella is the aofia (the leader) of his people in the Solomon Islands and a police sergeant working for the Brits as they are slowing turning the Islands over to independence. Sister Conchita is the new nun posted to his island, some of whose people are Catholic but many remain true to their mystical roots. A series of murders and other illegal activities lead the sergeant and the nun on the hunt to unravel this complex web and do their best to stay alive. It is a complex plot, with show more likeable main characters, and extremely well-written. I didn’t mean to start out reading a series, but I will absolutely read the next two in it. show less

The setting is the most memorable part of this book, followed closely by the two main characters, a Solomon Islander who enforces the law, both secular and sacred, and an American nun trying to bring order to a Catholic mission that has gone to seed. A visitor to the mission dies in suspicious circumstances and some rude Americans are far too interested in finding where John F. Kennedy hid out after the attack on his boat, the PT 109, during World War II, all while Sergeant Kella is supposed show more to be investigating sabotage on a logging operation. My only criticism is that the time - 1960 - is not much in evidence apart from historical markers, such as the presidential election in the states. One character uses the term "multitasking" which was minted much more recently. Otherwise, good fun, and a marvelous setting. show less

Graeme Kent's Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita historical mystery series is perfect for the armchair traveler, and it's so good that I'd almost give my right arm to have more than three books in the series. The first book, Devil-Devil, was a Best Read of 2011, the second, One Blood, was a Best Read of 2012, and Killman came very close to being a Best Read this year. I am so glad I found it while doing some research.

I am of an age where I remember Japanese soldiers being found in the show more jungle in areas like the Solomon Islands, either not knowing or refusing to believe that World War II was over twenty and thirty years after the fact. Since Killman is set in the Solomons in 1960, this is a perfect thing to incorporate in a mystery involving mysterious deaths.

Another strong element in the mystery is that of religion. Christianity (and not just Catholicism) has a strong hold in the Solomon Islands, but there are still many who hold on to their pagan beliefs with their strong attachments to the natural world. What Kent brought to life for me was the very real danger of a type of religious war involving the differing beliefs of Christians and of those peoples living in saltwater villages as opposed to those living in the bush (jungle).

The various religions aren't the only things that Kent brings to life. The Solomon Islands themselves play a major role. I can feel myself walking along a beach and breathing in the sea air... or being covered in sweat and slapping mosquitoes as I travel through the jungle and up into the mountains. There are political aspects to life in the islands. The Japanese are showing interest in the natural resources to be found there, and the Americans are showing interest in the Japanese. It's a land still struggling through the aftermath of World War II. Of all the equipment left behind by both the Japanese and the Americans. Of all the wreckage littering land and sea from the battles for Guadalcanal and the other islands.

Kent does such a marvelous job of putting readers in the midst of life in the Solomons. Of the tremendous navigational skills of the Polynesians. Of the eighty different dialects spoken there. Of the towering banyan trees, symbols of eternal life. And of island occupations such as that of tree shouter. It is such a rich culture! One of the characters is an academic gathering island songs for a book she's writing. Kent uses her as an example of the danger academics can face in traveling to remote areas on fact-finding missions. (Whom do you trust to tell you the truth?)

The major thing that makes learning about the area so enjoyable is the pair of Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita. A young Catholic nun from Boston, Sister Conchita chose her name because she thought she was going to be posted to South America, and she wanted a name that the people would find familiar. She thought wrong, but she has adapted to life in the South Pacific beautifully and has become the mainstay of the mission. She also has a flair for deduction which Sergeant Ben Kella reluctantly admits is useful. As Sister Conchita shows us life from an outsider's point of view, Kella has the insider's side of the story, and it's the blending of the two that makes this series so special.

I could wax poetic about this book... the entire series... for page after page, but I won't. This is a series that I hope all of you will give a try, especially if books with a strong sense of place are your favorites. Give island life a try. You can't have two better guides than Sister Conchita and Sergeant Ben Kella. show less

As an Australian my initial reaction to the 1908 London Olympics was of the infamous moment where Australian boxer (and future movie star) Reginald “Snowy” Baker was defeated in the final by English boxer (and future English cricket captain) J.W.H.T. Douglas. The infamous bit was that the referee was Douglas’s father.

Apparently, there is so much more to the 1908 Olympics than infamy; indeed, the London games had everything one needed to make it a disaster, including mad aristocrats, show more gold medallists who weren’t even aware they had competed in an Olympics, controversy in the Tug of War (they really need to bring the Tug of War back to the Olympics) and Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle inadvertently breaking all sorts of rules and regulations helping a marathon runner cross the finish line.

Kent does a sound job covering the Games, including the chaotic lead up, the often chaotic Games itself and the lasting changes to the Olympic tradition that the 1908 Games wrought. He also covers the some of the more surprising life paths that some of the leading figures took (Baker claimed to have taught Valentino how to kiss properly, while Douglas and his father drowned in a collision in the Baltic Sea). show less