Judy’s Review
How would you kill your best friend if you thought she’d betrayed you? Well obviously you wouldn’t would you? But someone in this tight little group of girlfriends is playing a deadly game. Georgie, Bronwyn and Lissa are devoted to each other, but Lissa is dead, drowned in the sea off the remote island where she and her husband own a fabulous luxury resort. But Lissa was a star open-water swimmer, so how could she possibly drown? Georgie and Bronwyn come together on the island for Lissa’s memorial service, along with her grieving widower and other friends from the tightly knit swimming team formed when they were at college. The atmosphere is strained. It becomes apparent that the luxury island resort has severe financial problems, and Lissa’s husband, Jem, is fraught with worry. In fact everyone is on edge, and everyone is hiding something. So, was Lissa’s death really an accident, or could she have committed suicide? Even worse, was she murdered?
Richard’s Review
This mystery/thriller is set on a stunning remote island, an idyllic destination for a dream holiday. But gradually we become aware all is not as it seems. The island folk have many frightening superstitions, and they especially fear Kanu, the cove where Lissa drowned. Locals won’t swim there because of an ancient legend – a monstrous sea-serpent which lives in the caves surrounding the small cove. “Kanu takes” the islanders say, and are convinced the serpent has taken Lissa.
It’s a great book to read on holiday, while keeping well away from any rocky coves and treacherous currents. Although it’s a dark tale of intense and secretive relationships, the novel has a playful side: each chapter begins with an anonymous description of a good way to murder your best friend. But someone on the island is feeling far from playful. Someone is feeling murderous.
