In a bid to reduce the list of books waiting to be reviewed and looking for links, tenuous or otherwise sometimes these things are simply staring you in the face.
So islands it is this time.
The first up is the latest novel from Katie Fforde whose writing has perhaps taken a different turn since her earlier novels. This one takes us to the Caribbean and Dominica, via a remote Scottish island.
Cass is an artist, not a photographer like her renowned father. It has been an issue all of her life, but now he has entrusted her with a special map, an old camera and a request to photograph some stone carvings. Surely she can fulfil this one thing for him? However when Dominica is hit by a devastating hurricane, Cass along with Ranaulph who has accompanied her finds her focus is on help and rebuilding this beautiful place. As she starts to embrace all of the changes in her life, can she perhaps see what is obvious to her and everyone around her.
This book is full of the laughter and romance you would accept but also, the mystery of the carvings, the impact and devastation of a natural disaster and the way anyone can rebuild from nothing to forge a life for themselves. If an island can do it, so can Cass and Ranaulph surely?
Another island, closer to home is Bird Island and it is there that Kitty Underhay, or Mrs Bryant as she is now known and her faithful servant and helper Alice find themselves.
Kitty and Alice go to see if the newest hotel is up to being included in the local Hoteliers Association. It all seems too good to be true, and when they are cut off by storms and a body turns up it seems the only answer is for Kitty and Alice to find out the truth.
In this the fifteenth novel in the series, this is very much a theme on the locked room murder mystery and with an overt nod to the great Agatha Christie and Burgh Island. With the clues and the red herrings, I was somewhat pleased with myself when I saw a vital clue and worked out the culprit. Sitting back to watch Kitty, Alice and with some help from Kitty’s husband Matt and the local police force, it was obvious that all was not what is seemed.
Set in the 1930s, these characters and all the stories have a charm about them that you cannot help but enjoy as you wonder exactly how many dead bodies they can keep stumbling across. As the books have progressed, of course so have the main characters lives and it is always nice to see the back stories fleshed out more. Time of course waits for no man and the inevitably about what is happening in this period, is surely bound to start featuring in the books.
Perfect for fans of historical cosy mysteries.
Thank you to the publishers via netgalley for the opportunity to read these books.
All of them are available now in various formats.
The Book Jotter 