Absolutely LOVED it! . A stunning piece of crime writing which I think rivals some of the best crime writers out there. It was a pure pleasure to read and with the right amount of humour and darkness threaded throughout. It is the perfect book to buy for the late evenings and to be whisked instantly away to the ever hot & stunning Caribbean.

If you enjoy Death in Paradise (tv series) you will love this series of books as well. Great read. Anxiously awaiting more.

Detective Inspector Richard Poole is trapped in his own private hell. Not that anyone else would consider the paradise of Saint-Marie hell, but Richard Poole is a special individual. And, of course, he’s also a damn fine detective. Which is rather handy, given how many murderers seem to be lurking on the island.

Polly Carter, the famous ex-supermodel – well, famous to everyone apart from Richard – has returned to her home on the island with some friends and colleagues in tow. Polly has had a troubled life, but things seem to be getting back on track – or are they? For as Polly takes her wheelchair bound twin sister for a walk, she runs off down a staircase carved into the side of a cliff. Once out of sight to everyone, she screams and is found dead at the bottom of the steps. Suicide? Of course not. A murder weapon is soon found halfway up the stairs – but with nowhere for the murderer to come from or to go to, how on earth was she killed?

As you may recall, Richard Poole was the first lead character in Death In Paradise, played by Ben Miller in the first two series of the show. He was replaced by Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman – one of the most effective change-of-leads that I can think of in TV land that didn’t involve the word “regeneration” – but series creator Robert Thorogood has kept him around with this series of books. The first, A Meditation On Murder, is the most viewed review that I’ve written this year (although it was posted on January 5th) and was very well received, not least by me. The only drawback to this perfectly clued impossible mystery was that the killer was a bit guessable from the structure of the problem. But it was the perfect emulation of a Christie mystery, hinging on a sole misconception that once it’s pointed out, opens up an entirely different picture. But after such a great debut, could the second book match it?

Nope. Because this one is even better. If anything… I’d almost say it was flawless. The plotting is perfect, the clues are plentiful but still baffling. I was chuffed that I worked out part of it but the killer caught me out completely. You could ask a question about why someone believed that something would work but there are clues everywhere that could help you figure it all out… You won’t, but it’s all there.

Add in the humour in the writing and the characters, including the chemistry between Richard and Camille, the curtailing of whose story was the only downside of Miller leaving the show, and you’ve got a book that had me grinning all the way through. And almost applauding at the end, at the artistry in tying together things that had been hidden in plain sight into an extremely satisfying solution, complete with a red herrings aplenty – there’s one aspect of the tale that I want to discuss so badly but it would be such a spoiler…

I’ve been waiting for a while to post this review – but the book is out on December 3rd so it’s time to a) get yourself a copy and b) order a copy for your mystery loving friends for Christmas. One of the finest mysteries that I’ve read for ages… possibly that I’ve ever read. Needless to say, it’s Highly Recommended.

I am a huge fan of the TV series Death in Paradise so was thrilled when I was offered the first in a series of a three book deal the creator signed with MIRA books earlier this year. Having loved reading a totally new story featuring the English Detective Richard Poole on the Caribbean Island of Saint-Mare in A Meditation On Murder, I was delighted to be offered a copy of The Killing of Polly Carter to review.

In this story Richard Poole is summoned to the scene of an apparent suicide whilst simultaneously agitating the imminent arrival of his mother to the island. Richard soon determines that the famous model, Polly Carter, couldn’t possibly have committed suicide and sets about investigating her murder. With her twin sister Claire, the sister’s nurse, the agent and the writer all seem to have solid alibis for the time in question, indeed Claire was in the island at the time the model crashed over the cliff to her death seemingly blaming Claire for her death, the team are going to have to work hard!

There is a real feel of the more traditional mystery in these books, with very little focus concentrated on blood and gore or even up to date forensics (most of this has to be sent off island for analysis) so the detectives have to be ‘real detectives’ As always in both the TV series and the novels there are a whole shoal full of red-herrings and if that wasn’t enough the solving of some of the clues depends on the reader knowing some obscure facts but I personally award myself points for identifying which objects are likely to be critical. The relationships between the buttoned-up Richard Poole and the young vivacious Camille, the eager Fidel and the lazy but well-connected Dwayne are brilliantly portrayed with the odd one-liner painting the picture really effectively.

With the victim in this case a model of International fame and one who seems absolutely typical of the profession based on the clichés that we are frequently fed by the media, the reader can turn their attention to the solving of the puzzle – or puzzles as one piece of information often opens up a whole host of different questions. Sadly as is so often the case, I really thought I’d cracked this one fairly early on, I had a number of clues solved and a convincing theory to back it up, only for another pesky piece of information ruining everything for me. As is so often the case, I had to wait with the suspects as they gathered together at the end for Richard Poole to reveal the who, how and why to me.

Any lover of mystery novels could do far worse than to pick up one of these books, especially at this time of year, after all a murder in the Caribbean is far more appealing when the wind rain and ever-potential snow warnings are blaring out at us on an hourly basis.

The Killing of Polly Carter will be published on 3 December 2015 and I’m greatly honoured that Robert Thorogood, the author, has agreed to answer some of my questions about his writing tomorrow so please pop back and see what he has to say.

I am a big fan of the TV series Death in Paradise and am also a very big reader, so imagine my delight when I found out there were books of it! Ok, so I missed the first in the series and I usually read series in order but I will go back and read that when I get chance.
If you are a fan of the TV series, you will be familiar with the characters, the setting, the types of murder they get involved with and especially the workings of Richard Poole's brain.
For those not familiar, DI Poole has be sent to the Caribbean. He is working with the local police force consisting of Officers Dwayne and Fidel, and Detective Camille Bordey. In the TV series, most of their cases could be catagorised as "locked door"mysteries as it is often impossible for any of the suspects to have committed the crime. Sometimes it even appears impossible for the crime to have been committed in the first place.
In this case, all the suspects appear to have solid alibis. They also all initially have quite solid motives for wanting to kill Polly Carter and it is up to Richard and his team to whittle down the many into the few before finally revealing the murderer. This reveal is done exactly like the TV series as a "get the suspects all together and go through them all" type reveal a la all the best TV detectives!
The interaction and banter between the characters - especially between Richard and Camille - also mirrors that of the TV series. The delightful addition we get in this book is the appearance of Richard's parents. The humour is at times a little dark and some of the situations the characters get into is a little slap-stick but it's all in good taste and all very balanced with the murder investigation itself.
All in all, a great addition to complement the TV series and a book series that I will follow avidly.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review