I found it quite refreshing to have Barker and Llewelyn trade their usual London haunts for a country house on a remote island in the Scillys. Hell Bay is Will Thomas's tribute to Agatha Christie. Trapping a group of people on a remote island and then killing them off one by one has definite overtones of Christie's And Then There Were None.
How well does the author do with a locked room (island) mystery? Very well indeed. I didn't have a clue who the killer was. All I could do was settle down, start learning about each one of the guests, observing their behaviors... and be thankful that there was no way I would wind up as one of the corpses.
Although very familiar with her stories, I am not an Agatha Christie fan, so I do not know how a fan would react to this book. I am, however, a Barker and Llewelyn fan, and it was a real treat to take these two out of their element and have them solve an extremely complicated and dangerous mystery on their own. Llewelyn's mystery-solving acumen grows with each new book, and Barker-- who has always been quite the iconoclast-- fits in rather well with the rich and those pesky government types. Who would have thought? I can't wait to see what these two do next!
How well does the author do with a locked room (island) mystery? Very well indeed. I didn't have a clue who the killer was. All I could do was settle down, start learning about each one of the guests, observing their behaviors... and be thankful that there was no way I would wind up as one of the corpses.
Although very familiar with her stories, I am not an Agatha Christie fan, so I do not know how a fan would react to this book. I am, however, a Barker and Llewelyn fan, and it was a real treat to take these two out of their element and have them solve an extremely complicated and dangerous mystery on their own. Llewelyn's mystery-solving acumen grows with each new book, and Barker-- who has always been quite the iconoclast-- fits in rather well with the rich and those pesky government types. Who would have thought? I can't wait to see what these two do next!
Enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his partner Thomas Llewelyn do not like to take body guard cases but they do so in this instance because of the high level of security involved. Even so, they emphasize the importance of having a larger protective group to cover the island where their duties are to begin. However, due to the sensitivity of the meeting the host refuses to have anyone but themselves for the assignment. This makes the case very difficult as a sharpshooter begins targeting the people who live on the island as well as those attending a party being used to camouflage the meeting and the existence of body gards. It all becomes more interesting when the crafts used to transport people to the island becomes unavailble for anyone to use.
After several murders including that of the host, the dynamtic duo lose face and confidence of many of those marooned on the island. There are just too many people to protect, too many windows and too many different personalities. Some have no faith at all in their abilities in spite of their record, others are unsure, and still others are opening hostile. Just two people to protect to many who go their different ways is frustrating for Barker and Llewelyn to perform their role. It turns out there are three people involved in the murdering plan. Why? That's for the reader to figure out. The author does give a few hints that tickled at the back of my brain but the climax quite surpried me. It's a tough and complicated case and I quite enjoyed that aspect along with the interactions, arguments and debates among the characters. For me, this was the most fascinating mystery I've read by this author.
After several murders including that of the host, the dynamtic duo lose face and confidence of many of those marooned on the island. There are just too many people to protect, too many windows and too many different personalities. Some have no faith at all in their abilities in spite of their record, others are unsure, and still others are opening hostile. Just two people to protect to many who go their different ways is frustrating for Barker and Llewelyn to perform their role. It turns out there are three people involved in the murdering plan. Why? That's for the reader to figure out. The author does give a few hints that tickled at the back of my brain but the climax quite surpried me. It's a tough and complicated case and I quite enjoyed that aspect along with the interactions, arguments and debates among the characters. For me, this was the most fascinating mystery I've read by this author.
