Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes

Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

DI Ben Kitto needs a second chance. After ten years working for the murder squad in London, a traumatic event has left him grief-stricken. He’s tried to resign from his job, but his boss has persuaded him to take three months to reconsider.

Ben plans to work in his uncle Ray’s boatyard, on the tiny Scilly island of Bryher where he was born, hoping to mend his shattered nerves. His plans go awry when the body of sixteen year old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay. Her attacker must still be on the island because no ferries have sailed during a two-day storm.

Everyone on the island is under suspicion. Dark secrets are about to resurface. And the murderer could strike again at any time.

For ten years DI Ben Kitto has worked in London with the Murder Squad, but after a tragic event he worries his nerves are shot. Refusing to allow him to quit, Ben’s boss instead convinces him to take three months off and not make a hasty decision. So, Ben returns to his uncle’s boatyard on the tiny Scilly Island of Bryher where Ben passed more than a few happy holidays as a child. But that peace is shattered when the body of a sixteen-year-old local girl washes up on the beach at Hell Bay – and due to a two-day storm, no ferries have sailed since she was last seen, so the killer must be a local resident. Does Ben have the strength to search for a killer in the place that was meant to be his refuge?

This is the first book in a new-to-me author and series. Set on the small islands off the Cornwell coastline this British police procedural is based around a small island with only a few hundred residents on it. Readers looking for an action-orientated novel or a fast pace to the plot probably won’t find what they’re after here. I really enjoyed the slower pace to the plot, helping to really set the scene and let me ease into the new character of Ben and the residents of the island who are so familiar to our protagonist.

It felt clear to me that the slower start to this novel really was just to set the landscape for the reader. The opening scene is the murder of the teenage girl and while it takes a few chapters for her body to be found, I was pleased this time was given for me to get so attached to both Ben’s character and the small coastal town he had returned home to in order to recover. I had no doubt the murder would be discovered and so I didn’t feel any rush and the fact the author clearly had a similar idea really sat well with me. I do find these smaller town, police procedural style of novels are equally as much about the characters as with the murder and mystery aspects so having them each given plenty of time had me eagerly turning the pages.

Once the murder is discovered and Ben is – somewhat reluctantly – drawn in to the whole situation I did feel the pace quickened a little. Readers who like the slow and steady progress of many British police procedural style of novels should absolutely find this fits the bill for them. I really enjoyed the cast of characters and I’m always astonished how quickly I can get drawn into another small and sleepy village setting of any novel. This book was no exception, and I hadn’t even finished this book before I had purchased the next on in the series.

With well drawn characters, and interesting plotline and a “locked door” stye of murder mystery this was a great book and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Recommended.