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 Burnt Island 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:

INTRUDERS HERE ARE BOUND TO DIE . . .
 
As the sun sets on a cold November evening, the tiny community of St Agnes prepares for their annual Fifth-of-November festivities. Moments before the fireworks are scheduled to commence, an islander discovers a charred body left on the bonfire, and quickly it becomes clear that a killer is at large.
 
Ben Kitto is the Deputy Chief of Police for the Scilly Isles, and with a killer on the loose, he has no choice but to forbid all residents from leaving the island. With a population of just eighty people, everyone is a suspect and no one is safe.
 
When threats start appearing, written in the old Cornish language, Ben suspects that the killer’s motive is to rid the island of the newcomers who threaten their traditions. With time running out, Ben hurries to discover the secrets of the island’s peculiar residents, but he knows it’s only a matter of time before another fire is started . . .
 
No place to run.
No place to hide.

Review:

I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to read the Ben Kitto series. It’s one that had previously gone under my radar but it’s quickly becoming one of my favourites. The Detective Inspector, Ben Kitto doesn’t do things in the way you might expect but his determination, coupled with his local knowledge mean that as a reader, I always trust him to find the answers, and I wanted to know what they were. I love the way he supports his deputy, Eddie, and I love that their relationship takes on a slightly deeper dimension in this novel.

All the novels in the series so far are mostly narrated in first person by Ben Kitto, but there are some shorter chapters in third person, usually from the perspective of a resident on the island who is seen as an outcast who is easily treated with suspicion. In Burnt Island, this character is Jimmy Curwen. I loved the way his character is developed and I loved learning more about him.

Kate Rhodes is a fabulous writer, and once again, her descriptions are exquisite. The sense of place in Burnt Island is brilliant and I loved being transported to the island and discovering more about the landscape and the community.

Once again, the community on the island is very small, and this means that everyone is under suspicion. Kate Rhodes does a wonderful job of placing red herrings throughout the novel, so that even with a small number of characters, it was impossible for me to guess who the perpetrator was. I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end!

I can’t wait to continue this series!

Burnt Island is available from Amazon.