This review will go live at the link below on 11 March 2021:
Hi and welcome to my review of The Islanders!

First of all a happy e-publication day to Ms Leonard, and a huge thankyou to Yvo for tagging me on Twitter and telling me that I would love The Islanders: you were absolutely right

It’s no secret I love me a locked room mystery and although I don’t really like (and hardly ever watch) reality TV shows, I do tend to like fiction that features reality TV shows. (Yes I know it’s weird thankyouverymuch, no I can’t explain, just go with it.) All this to say: it seemed like a perfect fit and I was happy to find it actually was!

After a five-year hiatus the immensely popular reality TV show LoveWrecked is back! Twenty people, selected through their social media accounts, will be brought to a remote island off the Greece mainland where they are to couple up with another contestant of the opposite sex and defeat the other couples in survival-based challenges, the winning couple taking home £100,000 each. What a premise!

Contestant no. 1 is Kimberley King. In a previous life she was a police officer, now she’s a bit lost so when she is invited to LoveWrecked she accepts. It’s not like she has anything better to do, and quite frankly, she could use the money. And what’s the worst thing that could happen anyway? Well, glad you asked, and sorry Kim didn’t, murder! With only a few people of the crew and not even half the contestants in place due to a storm, the first evening on the island turns into a bit of a binge fest. When the Islanders wake up the morning after they’re rather bleary-eyed but still manage to see the body floating in the pool. With only eight people on the island and one of them dead, whodunnit?!

At this point, the story takes a bit of a Saw turn: a TV turns itself on and a mysterious figure dressed as a judge informs the Islanders that it will be Kim’s task to find the murderer and to do so live on television AND against the clock because for every hour the murderer remains unidentified, another Islander will die.

In other words, we enter a kind of 24 stage: the clock is ticking mercilessly and the day is divided into hour segments. With the little intel Kim has, you’d better believe that first death won’t be the last.

Meanwhile, email correspondence interspersing the narrative gives us an idea why this is happening, yet for the longest time I could not for the life of me figure out the mystery. I suspected a few people because some of their actions struck me as odd, or they’d said something that sounded vaguely incriminating, while simultaneously suspecting someone who seemed innocent, just because they seemed too innocent to be true.

In the end I did figure it out… kinda. However, Ms Leonard did not show her hand until the last minute and managed to keep me on my toes until then. The Islanders is quite simply the locked room trope done right, it is a crazy ride, highly addictive and if you want to feel glad to be stuck at home instead of on a tropical island, just pick up The Islanders! Highly recommended!

The Islanders is out now in digital formats and will be out in paperback on 3 November.

Huge thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

When Kimberly King is randomly selected to appear on reality tv show LoveWrecked, it's come at just the right time. Having recently been fired from her job and with a pile of unpaid bills, she's determined to give it her best shot and win the £100,000 prize.

Upon arrival at the secret Greek island villa where filming is to take place, events quickly spiral out of control when one of the contestants is murdered. A self-appointed 'judge' appears on a tv screen to announce that one of them is the killer and Kimberly must discover who it is, on live tv. For each hour it takes, someone else will die.

Ooooh I do love a good locked-room thriller and couldn't pass up the opportunity to read this one. The Islanders is the author's debut novel and I'm very pleased to say it lived up to my high expectations. Along the same lines as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which is one of my all-time favourite books, it was gripping, immersive and suspenseful.

The tension increased with every passing second as Kimberly wrestled with her own deep-rooted self-doubt. The characters weren't especially likeable — each with a hidden dirty deed in their murky past.

The book concluded with threads coming together nicely as both killer and motive were revealed. And yes, you've already guessed, this is another book I highly recommend. In fact I'm convinced it's going to be a big hit this summer. It's definitely one to put on your reading list.

This was an easy book to read. It wasn’t too deep or gritty. It was just like watching a familiar tv show. The plot was good and the characters were interesting. Unfortunately it wasn’t as gripping or suspenseful as I would have liked.

Oh my, this was another bonkers story. A reality TV show LoveWrecked, very popular in Britain, is about to be re-started after a five year hiatus. The premise is a bunch of people go to an island, they are supposed to pair up and take part in challenges. One pair is eliminated every week and the winning pair get a generous cash prize. This time around the format will be slightly different, the show will select people at random rather than calling for applications.

Kimberley King is one of those selected. A former police officer, she left the force five years ago but we don’t learn why until much later. These days she tends a bar and is a party girl. She is also dead broke and, despite her reservations, she agrees to go in the hope of winning and solving all her financial problems.

She arrives at Crete and is whisked off to the port for the journey to the island with four other contestants. Hmm, the others must be arriving later. On the island, in addition to the five contestants (including Kim) are Rosalind (producer), Sophie (assistant producer) and Daniel (cameraman). One contestant, Jack Peak, manages to annoy everyone on the first night including giving a lot of unwanted attention to the female contestants. The next morning Jack is found dead in the pool.

It’s a sort of locked room type mystery on this island. They can’t get out of the compound and all the cell phones have been smashed. Jack’s death is only the first. Kim, being a former police officer, tries to question the others but, unsurprisingly, it turns out that everyone has secrets and no one wants to spill.

While I do enjoy a bonkers book occasionally, and I did stick with this right to the end, I found it getting more and more implausible as it went along. And, while I also don’t necessarily require plausibility to enjoy a book (think horror, sci-fi, fantasy and anything written by Matthew Reilly) in this case I was left wanting a bit more. The story was fun, the plot flowed well enough, the characters - well, none of them were very likeable but still... it was a quick, light, fun read. I think this will appeal to a lot of people, particularly those who like a dose of ‘reality’! Thanks to Netgalley, Canelo and S.V. Leonard for proving a copy for review. My opinions are my own.

I did really enjoy this, but the whole time I read it, I had an annoying niggle that I'd read something really similar before. I don't know whether this is a relaunch of a book, or simply my imagination, but it did take away a little of my enjoyment of what was overall an exciting, compelling read. I've not been reading very much recently, and this one had me reaching for my Kindle at any opportunity to find out what happened next, which can only be a good thing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Fun easy but cleverly put together read. Think Love Island meets Agatha Christie. I’m not a fan of celebrity TV but I do enjoy a locked in murder mystery.

A very enjoyable read. More of a fun read than stomach tightening suspense for me. Great characters and the plot was very well thought out.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I sat down and read this book in one day! From the moment I picked it up, I was unable to put it down. I have not read anything from S.V. Leonard prior to this but you can be certain I will be adding this author to my list of must read books! This book will keep you in suspense up until the final page! I highly recommend!

This book feels very relevant at the moment with so many reality tv shows. With some suspension of reality I enjoyed the book. It is an easy read, (probably would be an excellent holiday/beach read - when that happens!)

This was a fun read. Kimberly goes to an island and soon realizes its both what she signed up for. People start to die and she is going to find out who done it.
For an new site she really did this writing thing amazingly well. The characters were great. The story was good. And the writing was fabulous.
Wonderful quick read.

A highly addictive story that kept me hooked from start to finish. I loved the idea of this and the gripping storyline and entertaining characters did not disappoint! I also loved the fact that the idea was influenced by one of my all-time favourite Agatha Christie novels; And Then There Were None. A great psychological thriller and I will be recommending to everyone! Looking forward to reading more by the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for the arc of The Islanders by S. V. Leonard.

4 stars- This follows a 32 year old woman from Liverpool, England named Kimberley King whom gets selected for a line up in a hit tv show which is making a comeback after a 5 year time off air! The TV show is called LoveWrecked. The line up for the show has been selected by what they call a social media algorithm,

Kimberely She narrates this, with social media as well as clips from Spyland.

a great fun excited read, read within one day, I loved this a great one!


4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This crime thriller reminded me of a cross between Love Island and The Hunger Games. Former police officer Kimberley King is desperate for a life change and signs up to go on TV show LoveWrecked for the chance to win £100,000. But when it turns out there's a murderer on the island Kimberley has to find out who it is, before she's the next victim. Brilliant!

LoveWrecked is back after a five year absence and you heard it first here on Spyland.co.uk! Amongst the line up for the prize pot is down on her uppers Kimberley King, 32, from Liverpool. Candidates have been chosen by a social media algorithm, allegedly. For a closed room mystery substitute ‘Locked Island’ Mystery which takes place in an unknown Greek location. Kimberley narrates with clips from Spyland and social media #brainless #venomous #snarky #vacuous comments.

Well, this is bonkers but I have to say that you do have a highly entertaining fun, escapist time reading this. If I had to watch (one of) the inspiration(s) for this novel I’d run for the hills and I don’t run unless I absolutely have to or I’d maybe do the eye/pin thing rather than expend energy. However, this is such a lively, engaging, quick, easy to read book with a fast paced plot line that it just pulls you in to the island mayhem and madness! Yes of course it’s not realistic and not necessarily original but if something pulls you into the storyline and distracts you from the real world, who cares?!! Apart from Kim the candidates are not remotely likeable but that’s the point! On Day One the initial camaraderie changes to sharpened elbow jostling, barbed comments and a lot of appendage swinging from those who have appendages. All of the characters at some point deserve a slap or three especially those who are shrieking and screaming, they seriously get on my nerves. Then the tone utterly changes on Day Two, it becomes darker, twisty, totally unpredictable and wonderfully daft that you just carry on reading because you’ve just got to KNOW!!

Overall, if you’re in the market for something to while away the hours, that’s enjoyable and serves to distract then this may fit the bill. I look forward to reading what the author comes up with next!

With thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for the arc for an honest review.

I really liked the fact, it was a good thriller and mystery. The story unfolds and drops clues along the way which keep you going towards the end of the story. Really enjoyed reading about the characters and the main character Lisa.

A group of "lucky" individuals find themselves chosen at random to appear on a dating show only to find they've 'gone from competitors in a reality TV show to murder suspects in a horror show'.

I'm a sucker for reality TV shows like Love Island / Shipwrecked so a book based on a TV show called LOVEWRECKED was always gonna grab my attention, particularly when you throw a whodunit into the equation. In my element! 😂

I found this to be a quick, easy and very relevant read. I wouldn't say I loved it but it was enjoyable and different to anything I've read recently. I debated between a 3/4 star rating but glass half full kind of gal, I went with a 4! Plus, I didn't actually manage to correctly guess who the culprit was and that's always fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review 📖

Thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kim is an ex cop, now bartender whose life has taken a wrong turn. When she is randomly selected for a reboot of a reality show, with the chance to win 100k pounds, she decides to go for it, thinking the money will help her get on the right path. After the participants gather in the villa where the show will take place, it doesn't take long for the first person to die.

For a first novel, this was pretty well done. I really liked the concept. It was modern, incorporating reality tv and social media. I really can't say anything negative about it, I just am starting to think I don't love the closed room mystery as much as I think I should. I think we get introduced to too many people at once and I have a hard time keeping them straight. I had this problem a little less than I usually do with these types of books, so that was a plus. I would read more from this author.

Kimberley King, an ex policewoman, her life a mess, suddenly gets selected to appear on a tv show, LoveWrecked with the chance of winning £100,000. She and the other contestants are whipped away to a Greek Island and by nightfall, one of the contestants is dead. A suspenseful story, based on the locked room mystery, Kimberley has to keep her wits about her as she is put in charge of finding out who the killer is. A fun read and a shocker as the killer is revealed.

This was a super quick read, mostly fun, but with some issues which were hard for me to overlook.

First, let me say this...I have several Agatha Christie books, yet I haven't read a single one yet. 😬 I know, I know - it's blasphemous. I genuinely need to make time for them.

Now, having got that embarrassing tidbit out of the way, let's discuss The Islanders. My main gripe about this story was Kimberley's skills (or lack thereof) as a detective. Reading about her fumbling/bumbling efforts was genuinely embarrassing...and made me think that perhaps the fact she'd quit her job years before was a good thing. Because her work as a detective was so crucial to the plot (no spoilers), it essentially ruined the entire book for me.

I will admit, I'm a sucker for a locked-room mystery, and though I suspected the killer early on, I doubted the whole cast at one point or another. The ending more intriguing than I expected, so kudos to S.V. Leonard for that.

Overall, if you appreciate this type of mystery, I think you'll probably enjoy this novel. Had Kimberley been a little more capable, and a little less drunk, this had the potential to earn a very high rating from me.

Available March 11, 2021

Many thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for my review copy.

With not much to lose Kim packs her bags and heads off to a remote Greek island to partake in a reality TV show. Who wouldn’t for a £100,000 prize! Little does she know that death and mystery will be part of the program.

I love a good locked room mystery and this one was right up my alley. The story revealed well-paced clues in a manner that kept me guessing throughout. Great storytelling and I highly recommend! I am very excited to see what this author writes next.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author and publisher for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.