This is a fun mystery. The author breathes new life into some tired cliches: The estranged son who returns home after his father's death, and the uptight city dweller who can't get used to a more relaxed "island pace".

It's not a thrill a minute, more of an engaging conundrum about what exactly is going on with this strange house on this tiny island. The mystery is mostly trying to figure out why all these odd, eccentric people are acting so strangely and what, if anything, they are all up to. The longer it all goes on the more the reader begins to empathize with the main character's increasing feelings of paranoia.

Fun read.

Protagonist Cal Batten travels to Blacktip Island to settle the estate of his late father, Rhodes, whom he had not seen since the age of twelve.

Blacktip Island is described as having an ironshore surface with death-defying cliffs and gumbo-limbo trees and cactus, mosquitoes, merquatches, duppies, and boojums. Sounds fun, huh? But all Cal wants to do is sell and head home.

Problem is—he can’t. He must have the paperwork, the legal conveyances that he can’t find in all the mess left behind.

Cal remembers many of the island’s citizens including the one who would reintroduce him to scuba diving. They were friends when children but she doesn’t seem to know much more about his dad than he. The rest of the population all suspect his dad was hiding—what and how much—they are not sure.
As Cal digs deeper into the mystery, the gentle re-acquaintance with Marina begins to develop as the tension tightens into the who and why. Above and underwater scenes prove an exciting push into the conclusion which gradually settles the waters and works things out very satisfactorily.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s tongue-in-cheek humorous writing style (the stench from the booby pond), while working tangible bits of information into a plausible scenario. It’s a Blacktip Island novel, Book 2, but certainly a standalone. Only the island is a constant. It’s a lingering build of conflict coupled with twists and red herrings that keep the pages turning. The characters are thoroughly entertaining and the storyline amusing—comical at times. A lovely get-a-way when we all need one. Recommended and looking forward to Book 3.

Quirky, mysterious and entertaining. Cal moves to Blacktip Island to sell off his late father's football-shaped house. As he reaches the place, he realizes the house is filled with junk - what a good inheritance this has turned out to be! At night, Cal is pestered by mosquitoes and someone trying to dig the walls of the house. When the sun is shining high and bright and Cal is out, someone ransacks the house - every single time. Then there is Rosie, the cleaner. She refuses to leave, in spite of Cal firing her. Twice.
The greedy real estate guys in the Blacktip Island are eagerly waiting like sharks - they want Cal to sell the house ASAP. Something fishy here - and nope, the fishy smell has nothing to do with the sharks! Not the human ones, mind.
Overall, this was a very entertaining read. The ending seemed a little abrupt but other than that, I definitely think this book was superb. Highly recommended.

When Cal returns to the Blacktip Island, to settle his father's estate, he comes across odd, mysterios behaviour from the islanders. We start following the action, and we're faced with solving a mystery along with Cal.

Personally, I have never read anything similar to this before, and it was definitely one of the most pleasant surprises lately. It's always wonderful when you pick up something new and are thrilled, unexpectedly.

It was easy to follow the story, and although it took me a while to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, it was fun, and for me personally, fast-paced.

I also like how it is an equal mix of mystery, fun and romance.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, and I do recommend to someone who is looking for a book that will keep you interested and will make you laugh.

Island Mystery
This is a novel about an island full of mystery. It seemed like the story's set-up took forever. I almost quit reading several times. At about the middle of the book, everything started to come together to a very nice ending. It made me want to read more. That may be my problem with this story; I have never read anything in this series or by this author before. Those of you have read some of this series will probably really enjoy this book.
I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Caribbean, island-life, mystery, adventure, situational-humor, verbal-humor

It's been four years since I won the first Blacktip Island humorous adventure, and this one is at least as funny!
Cal's divorce is final, his business back in Illinois is floundering, his estranged father died and Cal is stuck managing the problems of inheriting this crazy house and whatever in an odd island in the Caribbean, and the housekeeper that won't go away but keeps telling him what to do. And then there's the thing about getting a dive certificate. And the sharks. And the way someone keeps getting into the house and tossing it. And a whole lot of situational and verbal humor. Definitely a fun read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy via NetGalley. Thank you!

Colourful characters, a shady past, a fear of sharks and a football shaped house, that all made for an interesting read.
Although you realise that the deceased must have been involved in dodgy deals from early on, the story grows, layer upon layer, leaving you to wonder just who his son can trust, and who is Rosie?
I enjoyed this book so much that I finished it in one day.

A slow start to this atmospheric tale of terror and treasure in the tropics.

Cal just wants to get onto the island, sell his dead father's house, and get back to his own life. But his father's housekeeper has other ideas, and his childhood friends, now grown and in positions of some local influence, won't help him get rid of her. The tension ramps up slowly with strange sounds in the night, surly looks from the locals, and his father's chaotic filing system disturbed while he's delayed elsewhere..Eventually pieces start to fall into place, leading to discoveries about his family, his friends, and his own half-forgotten childhood. But someone doesn't care about his past; they seem determined to cut short his future.

The sensory elements of this novel are well done. You'll feel every mosquito bite and taste the stale hot dogs. The stench of the booby colony will taint your nose. However, I found it hard to care about any of the characters or their goals. If you want a simple escapism with some grit and some blood, and a treasure, this will tick those boxes.

The Secret of Rosalita Flats is a humorous mystery set on a fictional Caribbean island, populated by a wide assortment of oddballs. I didn’t realize that this was the second book in a series (the first book is called simply Blacktip Island), but the story itself is a standalone. From what I can tell, there’s no real overlap between the two books other than the setting and probably more background on the some of the quirky characters on Blacktip Island.

The descriptions of the island and its inhabitants were delightful and along the way I got a bit more information on scuba diving than I anticipated. The main character, Cal, is on the island because his estranged father died and he has to sort through all the clutter in his dad’s football-shaped house. Something is going on that he doesn’t understand - there are a lot of weird happenings and unusual interest in buying the dilapidated house by various islanders. He doesn’t know who he can trust, including Rosie, the woman who his dad employed to clean the house and who refuses to be fired, as she has been prepaid by his dad for the year. The island itself becomes a character, as Cal explores the nearby bluff and some caves near the house. There are a couple of harrowing incidents in the course of his explorations, sometimes with his childhood friend, Marina, who is teaching him to scuba dive, and sometimes alone. The “secret” is revealed gradually - and there are a few good twists by the end of the book - and it was an enjoyable ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the chance to read this book. All opinions are my own.

So this was an interesting read! I didn’t realize that the book is the second of a series and ended up being annoyed at the island’s ridiculous inhabitants at the start. It’d probably make a lot more sense if I’d read the first book because there might be a little more emphasis on character building of the island on a whole as opposed to me feeling just as confused as Cal, the protagonist.

The Secret of Rosalita Flats by Tim W. Jackson was a pretty fun read, especially in the second half when things finally started falling into place and headway was made. It was frustrating in the first half, watching poor Cal try to get over the difficulty of going through his late estranged father’s estate while trying to navigate a completely bonkers island community. Seriously, this must be some sort of record as to the number of nutters one can squash in a book without it being unbelievable.

Even though I pretty much guessed the twists a mile away, it was still entertaining, watching Cal try to get his bearings and grow from passivity to taking on a more active role in life. I would definitely recommend reading the first book before diving into this one, as I have the sneaking suspicion that it’ll make this read even more enjoyable!

Diversity meter:
-

I loved this book! It’s very funny and the characters are so quirky as to be impossible - but somehow the author makes them into real and credible people. This is not a book which is so quirky as to be inaccessible, though. It’s fast paced and engaging. The plot draws you in and I was invested in the characters almost as soon as I met them. If you are looking for a book which brings together a good mystery, intriguing characters and relationships and hilarious dialogue, this is the one for you.

I was initially drawn to this book with the 1920's style font used for the title.

This is no slow burner, it draws you in makes you ponder and spits you out wondering what just happened. The main protagonist is a piece of property, with a past more blurred than most.

A dead father, with more to hide than the rest of an island combined. A hunt for documents, and a truth that must come out. Add to that a phobia of sharks and scuba certification.

Small island mentality, a single police officer. The sum of the parts is greater than that of the whole.

This book has left me reaching for it several times after finishing it.

I don't think I have done this before, but the <a href="https://blacktipisland.com">Blacktip Island Blog</a> is a must to feed any hunger for more.

Status: Completed

Rating 4.9/5.0

With a touch of romance, and a whole lot of mystery, this story flew by and I could not wait to finish it and find out what was really going on on Blacktip Island. As a very imaginative reader, I appreciated the descriptive language that allowed me to conjure images of each scene on my own throughout, as well as the less-than-perfect (but realistic) ending, and perhaps an opening for a sequel? This is a great summertime read for anyone looking to escape to a tropical island with a mystery for a few hours! Thanks to #netgalley and #BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to review this ARC!