Palms, Paradise, Poison
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Sea, storm, superstition . . . Constable Teddy Creque investigates a death with seemingly supernatural causes in this witty, atmospheric mystery set on a Caribbean island paradise.
"The battle between rational, supernatural, and criminal provides a tropical treat like no other" - Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
Constable Teddy Creque, the sole police officer on the tiny, sun-soaked island of Anegada, is used to weathering storms. So when Hurricane Leatha hits the Caribbean with brutal force, his main concern is keeping the island's two hundred residents safe.
Teddy expects the power to go out. He expects the phone lines to go down. But he doesn't expect the radioed message from the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force headquarters, informing him of a dangerous escaped prisoner. Queen Ya-Ya is a practitioner of ancient Afro-Cuban rites - and rumor has it she can kill with magic.
Teddy doesn't believe in magic, and when he easily recaptures the dignified, imposing Queen Ya-Ya, he doesn't believe his prisoner is dangerous either. But when she mysteriously kills a man from inside her locked cell, before vanishing once more into the night, Teddy is forced to reconsider . . .
This page-turning mystery from award-winning author John Keyse-Walker takes readers on an exciting journey from the storm-tossed British Virgin Islands to the heart of Cuba, and is a perfect pick for readers who like their mysteries international, atmospheric and adventurous.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Keyse-Walker's intriguing third outing for Constable Teddy Creque of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (after 2017's Beach, Breeze, Bloodshed) finds the tiny island of Anegada bracing for a hurricane. As everyone takes shelter, Teddy receives a mayday from Kevin Faulkner, a captain aboard a sinking freighter. Teddy heads into the storm, but Kevin is dead by the time he reaches the freighter. Then a woman leaps onto Teddy's boat who turns out to be escaped convict Marianna Oro (known as Queen Ya-Ya for practicing black magic), and the two barely survive the trip back to the police station. After the hurricane passes, Teddy is surprised to find Queen Ya-Ya gone, one of his officers incoherent, and a longtime island resident nearly dead. So begins Teddy's obsessive quest to bring Queen Ya-Ya to justice—a mission fraught with violence and which takes him from the British Virgin Islands to Cuba and back again. Keyse-Walker smoothly integrates Caribbean lore and culture into the narrative, which is peopled with distinctive, well-wrought characters. Scenes of animal sacrifices, however, are not for the faint of heart. Readers will look forward to Teddy's further adventures.
