Classic crime fiction fans, this one is for you! If you can imagine a modern ‘And Then There Were None’ (Agatha Christie in fine form) and mix it with all the crime tropes you can think of, plus throw in some classic horror elements…you might be part of the way to imagining this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
In this book, we’re introduced to Mila, an events co-ordinator who has been tasked with bringing together a group of celebrated crime writers for an island writing retreat to be hosted by the mysterious and reclusive J R Alastor. When the guests arrive on the island, it soon becomes evident that Alastor’s plans involve far more than writing tips – and secrets begin to surface. The luxurious and creepily remote setting even conceals mysteries – a network of hidden cameras, sinister clues, murder weapons from the books of each of the writers, hidden passages and a sinister ‘museum’ of macabre film props. It seems that the writers need to play the game to ensure their survival and even co-ordinator Mila doesn’t know the rules that will keep them alive.
Fans of crime and thriller fiction will enjoy spotting the tropes here – in a book about crime writers, it’s entirely fitting that the conventions of the genre form such a strong part of the plots and sub-plots, the red herrings and the murders. Indeed, snippets of J R Alastor’s book on crime writing are even included as one of the ‘voices’ through which the story is told, alongside Mila and the guests. Even though I saw through some of the plot twists (I’m pretty secure on my crime tropes!), there were still plenty of surprises in the plotting and times when I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough to find out what happened. Yes, some of the elements slightly stretch the limits of credulity, but it’s all such fun that you’re drawn along in the slipstream.
This is highly recommended to anyone who spots the novel’s ingredients – a remote island, a mysterious gathering, an absent host, a group of characters with hidden secrets, an abundance of murder weapons – and thinks that sounds like a perfect recipe! If you like tightly-plotted and twisty crime fiction, you’ll love this.
Photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash
