I’m delighted to be part of the Team Scilly Project, where I’ll be reviewing all the books in The Isles Of Scilly Mysteries series over the next few months. My review of Hell Bay is written with thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to be part of Team Scilly and to Simon & Schuster for my copy of the book.

Blurb:
DI Ben Kitto needs a second chance. After ten years working for the murder squad in London, a traumatic event has left him grief-stricken. He’s tried to resign from his job, but his boss has persuaded him to take three months to reconsider.

Ben plans to work in his uncle’s boatyard on the tiny Scilly island of Bryher where he was born, hoping to mend his shattered nerves. His plans go awry when the body of a sixteen-year-old girl is found on the beach at Hell Bay. Her attacker must still be on the island because no ferries have sailed during the two-day storm. 

Everyone on the island is under suspicion. Dark secrets are about to resurface. And the murderer could strike again at any time . . .

Review:

I love being introduced to a new character in a series so I was really excited to meet Ben Kitto and I can’t believe it took me so long! Ben Kitto is taking a break from his regular job in the Metropolitan Police when he finds himself caught up in an investigation on the Isles Of Scilly. I enjoyed getting to know him and learning more about his past and his decision to take a break from his career. He’s experienced and determined to get to the truth, but he’s also compassionate and quite vulnerable and I loved seeing this side of him.

The setting on the Isles Of Scilly means that Ben is operating in an area with very few residents and a very close knit community. I love Kate Rhodes’ descriptions of the island which really bring home how small it really is and she does a brilliant job of transporting me to the Isles Of Scilly to become completely immersed in the story. There is also a map at the beginning of the book which I found really helpful. Owing to how small the island is, the police procedures are very different to those in a bigger city and I found it really interesting to learn how suspects were arrested and interviewed by such a small team.

On such a small island, everyone comes under suspicion and I loved learning about the different characters on the island and all their eccentricities. With so many suspects, it is difficult to guess who might be guilty and I loved following the investigation. I raced through the story and found it very difficult to put down!

I can’t wait to see how the series continues.

Hell Bay is available from Amazon.