Drags on and on and on...going nowhere. Picks up in the last pages, with a killer and motive which seem plucked out of thin air (no building up, no logical clues). Cardboard characters, several storylines going...nowhere.

Enjoyed this one. Atmospheric. Think I will be reading more by this author. Good to see I have other books to catch up with.

A traditional thriller with a great narrator. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.

With thanks to the author, publishers Simon & Schuster Audio UK, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is a gripping, atmospheric, and absorbing murder mystery, with an array of interesting and flawed characters, that keeps the reader guessing until the end as to the identity to the killer.

Ben Kitty, the lead character, has returned home to try to recover from a traumatic event in his career as a London Murder squad detective, but instead finds himself drawn into an investigation to find the killer of a 16-year old local girl. The setting is a tiny Scilly island, cut off from the mainland at the time by the weather, which means that the killer must be one of the cast of characters on the island at the time, and Ben must identify them before time runs out.

I enjoyed how the author gradually developed the personal stories of each of the characters, in doing so creating scenarios where any one of 4 or 5 of them could potentially have been the killer, before the big reveal at the end. I did feel the plot moved a little too slowly in parts though, and in some places the dialog between Ben as the investigator and some of the other characters didn’t feel natural, although I can’t decide if that was down to the text itself or the narration.

Overall I enjoyed this first instalment in the Ben Kitto series, and look forward to checking out the rest.

Great thriller read. Loved the writing style from this author. Really hooked me in from the start and needed to know more and more.

A cracker of a book. A young girl with big dreams, Laura, is murdered and falls off the cliffs of her island home, the tiny Scilly island of Bryher, into the sea. DI Ben Kitto, taking time out at home from his police work in London, gets roped in to lead the investigation. Who on the island is responsible for this horrendous crime? I was drawn in by the larger than life characters, the mystery and the wonderfully atmospheric setting of this story. Ben himself is full of contradictions, and his complicated relationship with a beautiful visitor to the island confuses both of them. And then there are the strange island folk – the artist, to whom the young seem to flock, Rose with her potions and secrets, and Laura’s parents themselves with all their faults. This beautifully written and wonderfully narrated book kept me enthralled, and guessing right up to the end. Great read! I was delighted to find it’s the first in the Isles of Scilly Mysteries series. I for one will definitely be reading or listening to more of them.

This was a really interesting premise! I wasnt a massive fan of the audiobook itself but loved the plot and story - i dont think this has anything to do with the narrator but just personally i couldnt get on with them. I would love to read this when it releases though as I enjoyed the story

The first book in the DI Ben Kitto series. A good introduction to the main character, looking forward to seeing how the character develops.An enjoyable listen which had you guessing right to the end. The narrator was ok though was a bit robotic at times

If you love a slow burning, character driven thriller this is for you.
Beautifully written with an incredible talent in descriptive attention where the story effortlessly unfolds with the turn of each page until the dark and disturbing finale.
Quite a sad story of desperation and the possible consequences of the terror that exists behind closed doors set on a wild and lonely island .
Atmospheric, thrilling and overall a great read.

THE ISLES OF SCILLY MYSTERIES #1

I have recently started listing to more Audio books. I fully enjoyed this one.

This is the first book in THE ISLES OF SCILLY MYSTERIES
It won't be the only one i read. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Returning to the Isle of Scilly where her grew up, DI Ben Kitto is taking a recommended three month break from work after past events. It was suggested after he tried to hand in his notice to The London Murder squad. Being back 'home is going to be so very different for Ben.

This take a turn once back on the Island when the body of sixteen year old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay.

As always with a new book series we are getting to the know the characters. Learning their history as we get invested into the story.
This book has some interesting characters. I think i'm going to like Ben Kitto and and look forward to getting to know more about him as i read more of this series.
I believe there are currently 5 books in this series so I certainly have a little bit of catching up to do. If the rest of the series is anything like this one then i'm going to enjoy it.

DI Ben Kitto is persuaded, by his boss, to take a three month break after a traumatic event results in him offering his resignation. He returns to Bryher, the tiny Scilly Isle where he was born, and plans to recuperate whilst helping his Uncle Ray in his boatyard. Unsurprisingly, peace and tranquility does not reign for long, and the body of Laura Trescothick is discovered at Hell Bay beach. No ferries have sailed so the murderer must still be on the island. Everyone is a suspect and DI Kitto is back to work! The characters are believable and I felt invested in finding the killer, following all the twists and turns. I loved the Scilly Isle setting and the narration brought it all to life. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Listen to this as I have not heard of Kate Rhodes before and was pleasantly surprised. It did lull in some places and again the DI is on leave as he usually works undercover and by all accounts tried to put his notice to quit in. The tale takes place in the Scilly Isle so quite away from the UK as DI Ben Kitto originated there so he did know a few people although people change and are perhaps different from when he remembered them. It started with a murder of a 16yr old girl and Kitto was sent to try and sort it out being a small island everybody knows whos who, but as I said people change and they are not the same people he remembers. The area has a pleasant feel about it in spite of the bay being called Hell Bay the characters are well-defined and a pleasure to listen to.
I do have mixed feelings and am not sure if I would try another one from this author although I must say the story did work.

I read this after reading the second and third books but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. I liked hearing about the Scilly Isles and the community. The characters are believable and well written. I did guess who the killer was but I kept doubting myself until the end.
I wasn't sure about the drug story but I suppose it could happen and the close community not being aware of it.

I need to read book 4 now.

Will definitely listen to more from the author. The setting was perfect for the plot. Interesting concept, didn't guess the ending. Narrator was a great match to the story

Great listen I really enjoyed this and the narrator
The main character is DI Ben Kitto and his dog Shadow return home to Scilly to rethink his options after an event in London makes him question his future as a DI in the police force

When the body of 16-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 and Ben offers his experience in the murder squad to help the local police force
I liked Ben's character and loved the independent dog and as its a series of 5 I will look out for the next 4

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for introducing me to this series

This is the first book by Kate Rhodes I have read or listened to and it definitely won't be the last as Hell Bay was gripping and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

DI Ben Kitto returns to the place of his birth, the beautiful but bleak Scilly Isles, with the intention of taking some time following a tragedy which has resulted in him wanting to resign from his job as a detective in the murder investigation team in London but being told by his superiors to take some time out instead.

Unfortunately, this doesn't quite work out when a young girl is found on a remote beach having been stabbed to death and left to the mercy of the sea. The culprit must be one of the islanders and it is Ben Kitto who is tasked with investigating but what he uncovers is an island full of dark secrets.

With great characters, a fantastic setting and a great plot written at a perfect pace, Hell Bay is a gripping story that had me guessing and second guessing myself from the start and made all the better by the great narration of Stephen Perring who, despite the numerous different characters, did an excellent job.

Definitely recommended and I will be looking out for the rest of the series to feast my beady eyes or ears on and my thanks go to Simon & Schuster Audio UK and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of Hell Bay.

This is quite a typical small town crime story where nobody can believe that a murder can have been committed by one of the locals, and yet it couldn't have been anyone else. Although quite bleak in tone, the amount of time dedicated in the story to describing the antics of the pet dog, as well as the burgeoning romance between the detective and one of the locals, gave this more of a cosy crime feeling than I expected from the rest of the story. The pacing was at times much too slow and I found it frustrating that there seemed to be virtually no police work done, and it was all just the detective ruminating on which of the locals might have had motive and opportunity without actually seeming to ever look for any evidence!

In general I didn't mind the narrator, he had a pleasant reading voice, but I absolutely hate listening to male narrators attempt to put on distressed female voices since it inevitably sounds like cruel playground mockery, and given the story, there were a lot of distressed women in it, and for me it always jarred.

If I could read that series, have a lapse of amnesia and read it again and re-experience all the feels that series invokes, I would stay reading that series in perpetuity and never leave the Scilly Islands!!!!
this is one of my favourites series of all times and believe me when I tell you I really am an avid reader!!!!
Kate Rhodes is absolutely spot on in this series:
The backdrop of the Scilly Isles is so beautifully written, it is guaranteed you will want to go there! In fact, I am pretty sure their tourist trade was positively affected by this series.
The main characters are very likable particularly Ben Kitto whom you will want to meet in real life if you could (and his adorable dog!!!)
The murder mystery is really well laid out, the main suspects well listed and easily tracked.
The narration aspect of the story performed by Stephen Perring is as good as it gets, absolutely first class.
This book, the whole series is simply SPECTACULAR and I would give it 10 stars if I could!!!

I’ve not encountered this author before so wasn’t sure what to expect, but this story sounded like one I’d enjoy. I wasn’t disappointed & think I’ve found the next series to binge-listen (when my audible credits allow!)
Well narrated with pace & differentiation between characters, so I didn’t find myself trying to guess which character I was listening to. I’m unsure whether the accent was accurate as I’ve never visited the area, so I’d be interested to see what locals make of it (only because, as a Northumbrian, I find bad attempts at Geordie off-putting in an audiobook), but to me the accents were ok & added to the enjoyment of the audiobook. The storyline held my interest from start to finish & had me guessing & second guessing myself as to who the murderer was (who it turned out to be was actually my first guess but I changed my mind multiple times right up until the climax of the story).
A thrilling audiobook filled with great characters & an enthralling storyline. I was so pleased to find out it’s the first in a series & look forward to listening to the rest.

I'd like to thank Simon Schuster Audio UK, the author & NetGalley for the copy of this audiobook I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very entertaining book, expertly narrated (Stephen Perring is a gem). It did take me some time to finish due to the format (still not used to audiobooks) but had a blast all through it. The story mainly reminds me of Henning Mankell's Wallander series, as it does revisit a bunch of tropes common in the genre: a middle-aged detective experiences a traumatic event & tries to move forward by moving to a remote and/or isolated location, where a murder happens. The detective will cooperate or lead the investigation because of their talent, everyone is a suspect, etc.
This **does not mean** I did not like it: tropes are tropes for a reason and I have no problem with them if used well. Kate Rhodes does just that and delivers an interesting, mystery-packed tale, but it might not be your cup of tea if you're looking for something different. If you enjoy the most popular authors in the genre then by all means, give it a try!