Hell Bay – Kate Rhodes

Crime Fiction
4*s

This is a new series by Kate Rhodes featuring DI Ben Kitt who is visiting his home, Bryher, one of the smallest of the Scilly Isles. The title of the book is taken from the name of an Atlantic facing cove on the island named Hell Bay. In the 18th and 19th centuries this was apparently a notorious spot for shipwrecks caught on the rocks at this point.

Living on an island myself it is no surprise that I have a fondness for books set on them and Bryher is the ultimate in island destinations, very small populated by a small community who like to think everyone knows everything about everyone, how could it be that a teenage girl ends up dead with no-one seeing anything untoward? Ah small town settings or islands so few suspects and no chance that anyone had left the island by boat by the time the murder was discovered.  How hard can finding the perpetrator be?

Meanwhile we are aware that DI Kitt is on extended leave from the Metropolitan police but the reasons why aren’t revealed for a while. All he has for company as he lives in his deceased mother’s house is a dog named Shadow that he doesn’t seem overly keen on. But the island is home and he has friends and family in the form of Ray, a boatyard owner so he uses the skills he learnt as a young boy to lend a hand to building a boat. But as soon as it becomes obvious that the local police force aren’t used to dealing with murder he offers his services, after all having worked on the Murder Squad for a decade he has the requisite skills.

Laura Trescothick’s death changes life on the island immediately with the locals scared by the knowledge that there is a killer in their midst. After all this is somewhere where doors are left unlocked, the local shop provides food for one of the residents in exchange for honey and herbs and the pub’s landlady takes it upon herself to serve the returned policeman, also her godson, Cranberry juice when she feels this will benefit his health more than the alcohol he requested. One of the advantages of being an island though is that the journalists can be kept at bay, essentially no-one can leave or come to the island until the perpetrator is found, handcuffed and carted off, by boat to the nearest island with some cells, St Mary.

The characters are complex, yes all of them. We have an American artist, a smallholder, a rich businessman intent on owning all available property on the island and a hotel proprietor who still longs to be a singer. There is also a young bereaved woman who has moved to the island for the peace and quiet but who holds her secrets close to her chest, so you see there are many fascinating people to get to know as we begin to understand their stories.

This is a brilliantly multi-layered story that gets better and better as the story unfolds. This is a brilliant read for those who enjoy their crime fiction to be measured rather than frantic and like putting the pieces of the puzzle together for themselves. The superb plotting combined with the often bleak island setting and the complicated DI Ben Kitto made for rewarding reading.

I’d like to thank the publishers Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read an advance copy of Hell Bay, this unbiased review is my thanks to them. The hardback and eBook versions of this book was published on 25 January 2018 however if you want to wait for the paperback is will be published on 3 May 2018. I’m also delighted to confirm that it appears that DI Ben Kitto will be back in another book in this series called Ruin Beach, hopefully fairly soon as there was an excerpt at the back of this ARC!

First Published UK: 25 January 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
No of Pages: 400
Genre: Crime Fiction – Series
Amazon UK
Amazon US

This Week in Books (January 17)

Hosted by Lipsy Lost & Found my Wednesday post gives you a taste of what I am reading this week. A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words

I am currently reading Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes set on the tiny Scilly island of Bryher Hell Bay will be published on 25 January 2018.

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 Ray’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 sixteen year old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay. Her attacker must still be on the island because no ferries have sailed during a 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. NetGalley

The last book I finished was The Story of Our Lives by Helen Warner which covers four women over a time-span of twenty years through the highs and lows. This book will be published on 8 February 2018.

Blurb

Four friends. Twenty years. One powerful secret.

There are certain dates on which you’ll always remember where you were…The day Princess Diana died. 9/11. The London 2012 opening ceremony.

The same is true for Sophie, Emily, Amy and Melissa who have been best friends since they met twenty years ago.
As history has moved on around them, they have seen each other through everything. From Sophie’s secret fear that she doesn’t actually want to be a mother despite having two kids, to Amy’s perfect-on-the-outside-abusive-on-the inside marriage to Melissa’s spiralling alcoholism and Emily’s single motherhood.

But could a lie that spans just as long tear them apart?
A moving, unputdownable novel about four incredible friendships, and the stories we all share. Amazon

Next, because I am going away for a long weekend in the Peak District and I like my reading to be relevant, I’m going to be reading A Patient Fury by Sarah Ward.

Blurb

When Detective Constable Connie Childs is dragged from her bed to the fire-wrecked property on Cross Farm Lane she knows as she steps from the car that this house contains death.

Three bodies discovered – a family obliterated – their deaths all seem to point to one conclusion: One mother, one murderer.
But D.C. Childs, determined as ever to discover the truth behind the tragedy, realises it is the fourth body – the one they cannot find – that holds the key to the mystery at Cross Farm Lane.

What Connie Childs fails to spot is that her determination to unmask the real murderer might cost her more than her health – this time she could lose the thing she cares about most: her career. Amazon

What does your reading week look like? Have you read any of my choices? Are you planning to?

Please leave your comments in the box below.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph (January 2)

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

Well it’s a while since I’ve joined in with this meme!

This week I’m featuring a book I will be reading later this month; Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes will be published on 25 January 2018. This is a new series from this author whose previous Alice Quentin series was a huge hit with me.

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 Ray’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 sixteen year old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay. Her attacker must still be on the island because no ferries have sailed during a 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph ~ Intro

Laura steals out of bed while the rest of the island sleeps. By 6 a.m. she’s in the kitchen, cramming toast into her mouth, staring out at the late winter darkness. North wind batters her face as she leaves the cottage, a whiplash of blonde hair streaming across her shoulders. All of her sixteen years have been spent her; she only has to glance at the sky to second-guess its moods. A line of pink is gathering over Gweal Hill as she climbs its sharp incline, careful not to snag her tights on the bracken and coarse grass.

Excerpt taken from an ARC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Personally I think that sets the scene very well indeed in conjunction with the synopsis, already in just a couple of sentences I have a feel for Laura’s world.

So would you keep reading?
Your thoughts in the comments box are always gratefully received.

Weekly Wrap Up (December 3)

Well here we are in December again already!

The lovely Susan the unique book blogger at The Booktrail sent me a message to let me know that I am quoted in The Apprentice of Split Crow Lane by Jane Housham, one of the non-fiction Victorian True Crime books that I read last year. I haven’t managed to look inside the book itself, but here is my quote on the Amazon Product page

I don’t talk about my work that much, mainly because Intellectual Property Law is of limited interest to many people and I work in the Legal Department of a company that renews Patents, Designs and Trademarks worldwide. This week I completed 15 years service, although I hasten to add that I’ve had a number of different roles in that time. To mark this achievement I was presented with some beautiful flowers and a code that allows me to buy some vouchers – I’m contemplating whether it is wrong to go for Amazon vouchers bearing in mind the size of my TBR?

This Week on the Blog

My first of the three reviews this week was for the brilliant The CWA Short Story Anthology: Mystery Tour which was jam-packed with a whole range of crime stories by some fabulous authors.

My excerpt post came from His Kidnappers Shoes by Maggie James having recently finished her novella, Blackwater Lake which was my second review of the week and prompted me to read more by this talented author. Thankfully I had one of her books on the TBR.

This Week in Books post featured the authors Natalie Meg Evans, Helen Barrell and Mel McGrath.

My final review of the week was for Ruth Ware’s latest novel The Lying Game which had an atmospheric setting along with one of my favourite relationships to feature in psychological novels, that of female friendship.

This Time Last Year…

I was reading My Name is Leon by Kit De Waal a touching story set in 1981 with a child narrator Leon who believes he is the only one that can truly care for his baby brother Jake. His mother is somewhat distracted by trying to win over Jake’s father and it is almost inevitable that both boys end up being taken into care. This story moved me far more than I expected, probably because I fear the tale is only reflecting a reality for many boys within the social care system even today.

Please click here or on the book cover to read my review

Blurb

It’s 1981, a year of riots and royal weddings. The Dukes of Hazzard is on TV. Curly Wurlys are in the shops. And trying to find a place in it all is nine-year-old Leon. He and his little brother Jake have gone to live with Maureen. They’ve lost one home, but have they found another?

Maureen feeds and looks after them. She has wild red hair and mutters swearwords under her breath when she thinks they can’t hear. She claims everything will be okay. But will they ever see their mother again? Who are the couple who secretly visit Jake? Between the street violence and the street parties, Leon must find a way to reunite his family… Amazon

Stacking the Shelves

First up following my review of The CWA Short Story Anthology: Mystery Tour I was contacted by one of the authors I called out, Christine Poulson. Now as regular readers know I have iron-clad willpower when being offered books but there were two reasons to gratefully accept her latest book Cold, Cold Heart. One I really did enjoy her short story Accounting for Murder and secondly the story features a Patent Lawyer, I have quite a bit of contact with this breed of lawyers including my direct boss, so it seemed fitting in this, my long-service award week.

Blurb

Midwinter in Antarctica. Six months of darkness are about to begin. Scientist Katie Flanagan has an undeserved reputation as a trouble-maker and her career has foundered. When an accident creates an opening on a remote Antarctic research base she seizes it, flying in on the last plane before the subzero temperatures make it impossible to leave. Meanwhile patent lawyer Daniel Marchmont has been asked to undertake due diligence on a breakthrough cancer cure. But the key scientist is strangely elusive and Daniel uncovers a dark secret that leads to Antarctica. Out on the ice a storm is gathering. As the crew lock down the station they discover a body and realise that they are trapped with a killer. Amazon

Now I promise not to acquire books in December, this plan always goes so well that for some reason I feel the need to stock up in readiness. I have therefore got a few new books…

One of my new purchases is The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon, I was looking out for a copy of this book at the recent book sale but there wasn’t a copy  so I bought one!

Blurb

England,1976.

Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.

And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined… Amazon

From NetGalley I have a copy of Hell Bay from Kate Rhodes. This is a the beginning of a new series from this author which will be published on 25 January 2018.

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 Ray’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 sixteen year old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay. Her attacker must still be on the island because no ferries have sailed during a 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. NetGalley

Finally for this week’s post I have a copy of The Last Day by Clare Dyer which will be published on 15 February 2018.

Blurb

They say three’s a crowd but when Boyd moves back into the family home with his now amicably estranged wife, Vita, accompanied by his impossibly beautiful twenty-seven-year-old girlfriend, Honey, it seems the perfect solution: Boyd can get his finances back on track while he deals with his difficult, ailing mother; Honey can keep herself safe from her secret, troubled past; and Vita can carry on painting portraits of the pets she dislikes and telling herself she no longer minds her marriage is over.

But the house in Albert Terrace is small and full of memories, and living together is unsettling.

For Vita, Boyd and Honey love proves to be a surprising, dangerous thing and, one year on, their lives are changed forever. Amazon

Since my last post I have read 6 books and appear to have gained just a few more than that, my TBR now has stands at a total of 184
Physical Books – 110
Kindle Books – 57
NetGalley Books –17