Author: Paula Lennon
Finished on: 4 October 2018
Where did I get this book: An Audible listen
This is Paula Lennon’s first book featuring Detective Raythan Preddy. Although in some ways it reads as if we’re joining this experienced world-weary Jamaican police officer midway through a series. He has recently finished a high profile case that went horribly wrong in the end, and because of this his work is under huge scrutiny from both the public and his bosses.
I found myself wondering (probably due to my newfound obsession with how crime fiction novels find their way to a publishing deal!) whether Lennon has indeed written previous novels featuring her hero, but this is just the first one to make it into print.
In this story, Detective Preddy and his dedicated team, plus a strange visiting officer from Glasgow, investigate the death of prominent and wealthy local businessman, Carter Chin Ellis. We delve deep into the complex and sometimes unpleasant web of relationships between the other Chin Ellis family members and their associates. There are plenty of secrets to uncover; dodgy dealings and corruption abound.
But Lennon also subverts our expectation of corruption too on occasion in her plot. We may expect everyone is a position of power to be up to no good, and often they are, but it makes things more interesting for us that sometimes they are just doing their job and doing their best.
I listened to the Audible version of the book, and I have to mention Damian Lynch’s reading of the story. Not only does he use different accents for the various Jamaican patois spoken by Lennon’s characters, he also reads in a London accent and even manages passable Glaswegian Scottish pronunciation in among it all. It is seriously impressive stuff. I laughed imagining him getting each page of the book and seeing what verbal gymnastics he was required to perform – he definitely earned his fee for this one.
This is an enjoyable and satisfying crime story set in a beautifully realised Montego Bay. It all feels authentic, from the culture and lifestyle to the police methods. And it builds to a denouement with plenty of tension and excitement. I am looking forward to reading about what Detective Preddy does next, or maybe even what he did before.
Murder Underground Broke The Camel's Back 