The Shoeshine Killer by Marianne Wheelaghan

review by Maryom

This second in the Scottish Lady Detective series, sees Louisa Townsend in Fiji for a police conference - but getting mixed up with murder. When a new acquaintance is killed, Louisa isn't convinced the local police are asking the right questions so wants to help out - but not only do the Fijian police not want her help - they also think she could be a suspect!
With Louisa sidelined from the official investigation, this is more like an amateur detective story than a police procedural. She's forced to do things on the sly, without any of the resources available to the official investigation, although she does have the assistance of one of the local Fijian police, Constable Makareta, who's actually supposed to be keeping an eye on Louisa's movements.

In her first 'outing', Food of Ghosts, Louisa was trying to get to grips with the customs of the Pacific Island  Kiribati; this time she's equally adrift by being away from home on Fiji. It certainly doesn't come over as the idyllic paradise I've always assumed it to be - it has as many drug-dealers and prostitution rackets as any gritty European crime setting, and the weather seems just as wet (though undoubtedly hotter). This is though a lighter sort of crime novel - more Midsomer than The Bridge - with some decidedly comic moments in between the deaths; over all it's a fun, enjoyable read rather than a grim psychological study.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Pilrig Press
Genre - crime

Food of Ghosts by Marianne Wheelaghan

review by Maryom

Detective Sergeant Louisa Townsend has returned to her native island of Tarawa in the Pacific to help implement modern hi-tech policing methods but coincidence leads her into heading a murder investigation.
Although she's well-versed in the manners and procedures of Edinburgh police, Louisa finds herself adrift and feeling powerless in this totally different world.  The locals - both native islanders and the substantial ex-pat community - seem bent on obstructing her, particularly by adhering to their belief that, because of the mutilation of the body, the victim must have been killed by ghosts.

If you're reaching saturation point with the doom and gloom of Nordic Noir, this lighter, brighter crime novel may be what you're looking for - certainly the Pacific island setting is about as different as could be imagined.

Food of Ghosts, despite the gruesome mutilation of the corpse, is a lighter sort of whodunnit - much like Midsommer Murders or Death in Paradise, proving that a beautiful setting yet again hides the same murder motives and shaky alibis as the grimmest inner city. As Louisa is returning to a place she only remembers from her childhood, the reader discovers it and its inhabitants along with her. There's a great supporting cast of her, often unwelcome, relatives - all of whom will surely be back in Louisa's further adventures.

Although I didn't guess the culprit, I should have done - the hints and pointers were there at the beginning but in a way so obvious that I, like Louisa, ignored them.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Pilrig Press
Genre - crime
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