Review: Holy Island

Holy Island by L.J. Ross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

DCI Ryan has been on enforced sabbatical following a case in which his own sister was murdered. He has been spending his time on Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of Northumbria with a population of 200, drinking and feeling sorry for himself.

Shortly before Christmas, his pity-party for one is rudely terminated when a dog-walker finds the body of a young woman murdered, her body left in a way which suggests pagan rituals. Given that the island is cut off from the mainland for several hours every day, Ryan suggests to his Superintendent that he resumes active duties and leads the investigation. His superior officer concurs but sends a professor from the University who specialises in pagan rituals to the island to assist the investigation.

Doctor Anna Taylor was brought up on Lindisfarne, but after a family tragedy and her sister's betrayal she left and moved to the mainland. Now she's back as a police consultant but her return is not welcomed by everyone.

Initially I found some of the writing to be a bit confusing, there was talk of nights being pitch black so you can't see and then immediately references to the sky being full of stars, and other such anomalies. Then the plot started to unfold and I was intrigued. Unfortunately, I found it hard to believe in a plot in which a young woman had slept with nearly every man on the island and in which at least 5% of the population are members of a satanic cult. I know in detective stories the writer will give the reader several suspects to choose from, in this case all the suspects were guilty!

In all honesty, it reminded me of a creepy children's TV series back in the 1970s, called The Children of The Stones, maybe its just the epilogue.

Anyway, happy to continue reading on Kindle Unlimited as the series finds its feet. I see there are 20 books in the series so I assume it does.

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