Book: Murder in the Caribbean
Author: Robert Thorogood
Pages: 326
Read on: Kindle
Read in: 3-4 hours
Plot Summary: DI Richard Poole is hot, bothered and fed up. He’s stuck on the tropical island of Saint-Marie, forced to live in a rickety old shack on a beach, and there isn’t a decent cup of tea to be found anywhere.
When a boat explodes in the harbour, Richard and his team soon realise there’s a new murderer on the loose. But who is it? And why did the killer leave behind a ruby at the scene of the crime?
As the police dig deeper, they uncover secrets that go back decades, and a crime from the past that can never be forgiven.
Worse still, they soon realise this is only the beginning. They’ve got to catch the killer before there's another death in paradise.
General Thoughts: We are big fans of Death in Paradise, the BBC series, which follows a team of detectives on a little island in the Caribbean called Saint-Marie. There are four cops in the island's police team and they must use all the minimal resources at their disposal to solve murders. The cases on this show are quite decently complicated and so fun! So, anyway, we've read all the books in the series as well, which, please note, are different from the stories on the TV series. I don't know how I missed out on this book! As soon as I saw this was out, I immediately got it and devoured it in one sitting! Here are links to the previous books that we've reviewed- The Killing of Polly Carter, Death Knocks Twice.
Things I Liked:
1. This story is about a twenty-year old case, which was not fully solved back then. So, essentially, it is a cold case and there are fewer things I like reading about than cold cases! So, this book's premise was immediately interesting to me.
2. The book is well written and very fast-paced. There is never a dull moment in the book, even with the usual fun, bickering and banter going on between characters. The events move fast and new murders happen and new clues are found. So, this book is really gripping.
3. There are some good red herrings in this book, something which I really appreciate in the murder mystery genre. There are a few people with strong motives for the murders and the team of cops look into each of these motives, trying their best to drill down and find out about the events from 20 years ago!
4. The events of the past- a jewellery store heist in London- and its connections to Saint-Marie are also nicely established. The events of that day and the murder that took place are revealed bit by bit as the police are able to find the members of the original gang of thieves.
5. The final reveal was also nicely done. Richard and team set up a trap to catch the unexpected real killer and that person walks right into it!
Things I Didn't Like:
1. The killer was easy to guess, but I don't hold that against the author because there was some very good red herrings!
Rating: 4/5
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