A Sister Conchita and Sergeant Kella Mystery
- Book II
G W Kent
Robinson (Constable &
Robinson)
7 June 2012 / ISBN: 9781849013413
Historical Mystery / 1960 / Solomon Islands
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Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita are back for a second adventure
in this innovative and intelligent series. Conchita is now living
in the rather primitive Western District at a mission with three
elderly nuns. When an American tourist dies in a rather spectacular
way at their open day, she is keen for Kella to investigate, but
the authorities don't seem keen for anybody to do this. Instead
the pair have to discover why some of the Americans are digging
into what happened when soon-to-be-president John F Kennedy was
rescued during the war, and what is just so terrible about it all
that people are willing to go to any lengths to find out.
Readers of my reviews will know I am always impressed by an author
who tries to do something different, and books set in the Solomon
Islands in 1960 would appear to satisfy on two counts. But what
else do they have to offer the reader apart from originality? A
way into a wholly different and exotic world where the old ways
were reluctantly giving way to the new and the problems faced by
both the white Colonials and the native inhabitants. This is a beautifully
delineated tale of a place hovering on the threshold of modernity,
yet still engaging in traditions stretching back into the past.
So far I am making it sound like a TV documentary, which is not
my intention (although if it was it would be a good one) as there
is also a fairly involved and thought-provoking plot. We can see
the seeds for modern problems being sown too as Kella has to look
into problems at the logging camp, and gives an all too familiar
picture of a place devastated by man's greed and disregard for a
fragile environment. There is a lot in here considering it is quite
a short novel, and having to wait a whole year until the next one
seems a long time indeed. All I can say is if the reading public
doesn't like this series, they don't deserve it. The best thing
I have read this year so far.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Devil-Devil
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