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 Ruin Beach 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:

THE ISLAND OF TRESCO HOLDS A DARK SECRET SOMEONE WILL KILL TO PROTECT.

Ben Kitto has become the Scilly Isles’ Deputy Chief of Police. As the island’s lazy summer takes hold, he finds himself missing the excitement of the murder squad in London. But when the body of professional diver Jude Trellon is discovered, anchored to the rocks of a nearby cave, his investigative skills are once again needed.

At first it appears that the young woman’s death was a tragic accident, but when evidence is found that suggests otherwise, the islanders close ranks. With even those closest to the victim refusing to talk, it seems that plenty of people might have had reason to harm her. As the islanders remain guarded, Ben Kitto suspects a killer is on the loose in Tresco.

Everyone is a suspect.
Nobody is safe.

Review:

It’s great to be back with this series so soon and I enjoyed Ruin Beach just as much as its predecessor. Kate Rhodes’ description of the Isles Of Scilly is wonderful and though it’s an area I’ve never visited, I picked up a really strong sense of the location, its landmarks and the community.

Once again, as the Isles Of Scilly are so sparsely populated, this investigaton covers a lot of close knit relationships: families, lovers and people who have know each other since childhood. There are a limited number of suspects and this makes the story much more intense. I loved delving into the history between the characters and trying to work out who could have done what. There are so many red herrings and this put me on the edge of my seat as Ben and his small team searched for answers.

Kate Rhodes writes in her author’s note that she is fascinated by the archaeology of the Isles Of Scilly that she includes in Ruin Beach. This is obvious from the engaging way in which she writes about the treasure and the importance the characters attach to it and her thorough research adds another layer of intrigue to the plot.

As the novel reaches its conclusion, the tension really rises and I loved the sense of jeopardy as the plot comes together. I couldn’t wait to discover how the novel would end.

The residents of The Isles Of Scilly definitely still have more stories to tell and I’m looking forward to the third book in the series.

Ruin Beach is available from Amazon.