Cover Image: The Devil's Horn

The Devil's Horn

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Member Reviews

I loved the idea of reading a book based in Majorca as a kind of escapism during lockdown. The descriptions are vivid and warm and I did enjoy dipping into this easy going crime mystery whilst reading something else. The protagonist, Isabel/ Bel is likeable enough and very busy with one thing or another but starts to grate as she is so ridiculously perfect - loved and known by everybody on the island, a 'legendary' cook, multilingual (handily including Creole!), gorgeous, clever, an excellent boat handler, canyoner, rock climber, swimmer, detective as well as running her own business who has a rolled cable ladder, bolts and carabiners at the ready and constantly munching on sunflower seeds, the only snack that passes her lips! She performs handstands on her way to her morning swim, only does carbs before midday and kisses everyone she meets.
Not necessarily a gritty murder mystery and at a pace I can only imagine emulates the pace of life in Majorca (slow!), the story goes on and on with every swig of ice cold beer, cortados coffee, and friendly wave from her faithful yellow car affectionately named "Pequenito".
Having said all that, it is an enjoyable piece of escapism as long as you give it plenty of time and skim read parts. The mystery is not too complicated and they certainly take their time under the blues skies and warming sun amongst the beautiful Majorcan mountains, villages and coastline.

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Really sorry but I just couldn't get into this book and its a DNF from me.

Only leaving feedback this way as if you use the don't give feedback section of Netgalley, even though you are feeding back that you aren't giving feedback it doesn't count for your all important ratio.

Sorry, had been looking forward to this as have read the authors's non fiction books, but it's just not quite gelling for me.

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Perfect summer holiday reading. Agatha raisin in the sunshine! I would recommend this book to all murder mystery fans

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My first book by this author. It was an interesting story set in Mallorca and the surroundings were very much part of the story. Interesting characters with a very good plot.

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The author is a well known travel writer and this shows in the environmental descriptions. Personally, I thought they got a bit too close to travelogue, or holiday in Mallorca brochure, at times, which gets in the way, not of the plot but rather of the flow of the reading experience. Show don’t tell is a dictum which springs to mind. There are actually two plots, a kidnapped child and a drug cartel murder. The former is really too predictable, perhaps its main function is to explain why the heroine – a former police officer – has been lured back into service. The latter has a number of twists, some interesting characters, a bit of depth and adventure. Detective stories always have fairly natural coincidences to allow the protagonist to put the solution together, but this one does rely a bit too much on contrivance and the main twist is not very hard to spot. Having said all that, I did find it an easy read but more of a holiday read rather than a serious challenge.

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A delightful story set in Mallorca with all of the associated smells, sun, food and wine. I generally complain about lack of contextualisation and descriptions but cannot do that with this book. It's almost too much, certainly at first, but, once immersed in the story itself it's necessary and highly enjoyable. Yes, essentially a story of murder, drugs and kidnapping but the ex police inspector now running a holiday-home rental business is up to that - much to the initial aggravation of both the local police Inspector and the Guardia. She does tend, at times, to jump in without thinking first, but her faithful friends come to the rescue, not to mention her pet ferret. Sufficient twists and turns amongst the delicious food that gets served to keep the reader engaged. Thanks to NetGalley and Burro Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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One of the best things about reading an ebook is 5hat you can immediately find out what words mean, either by translation or a dictionary. I've now learned a few words of Spanish - or Mallorcan - I don't know which. An excellent and enjoyable book. Well written and the people involved have real depths.

Loved it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

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I really enjoyed this, the story was well told and the writing was good. The crime solving and the characters were believable and you could feel the Mallorcan sunshine.

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Isabel may have retired from the police force but she can't quite give up solving crimes! Between a gruesome murder and an abduction of a little girl from the beach she has her work cut out for her. This is a fun and engaging read. Isabel has an amazing knack for spotting when people are hiding things, and she's always a few steps ahead of the police on these cases.

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Murder, abduction, investigations, Spanish holiday feeling and descriptions of its cultures and surroundings ....all packed in this.
Slow paced but a gentle satisfying crime solving read. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC

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I really enjoyed this book immensely. As a regular visitor to the beautiful island of Mallorca I had actually been to some of the areas mentioned in this book and so could set the scene in my mind wonderfully. The story put me in mind of a Death in Paradise storyline. I hope that this will be the first in a series of many as I would love to know what happens to Isabel next.

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