Murder on a Cornish Isle by Jo Silva

 Murder on a Cornish Isle by Jo Silva is a murder mystery novel featuring detective Belladonna Nightshade who must solve not one but two complex and perplexing murders which take place on Saint Michael's Mount during the reunion of the Pimpernel club, which is a group of ex-military personnel who all met in Iraq who are up to no good in various ways. This book looks at the murder of the Home Secretary and also the murder of another member of the group. This leaves love birds Belladonna and Joe Enys the local police officer together interviewing the suspects to try and solve the murder while also battling their feelings of love.

This book started very dull and got to the point when I was so far in and was asking "When is the murder going to happen?". This was exactly when the murder did happen in the most bizarre way very quickly followed by the detective pair discovering a second murder. The murder mystery book keeps the reader on the edge of their seats to work out who the murderer or murderers are due to the many interesting and confusing clues. This book is a big puzzle for many.

I liked this book because it really is unique offering a storyline unlike any other I have ever read and to an extent going beyond the rules of story writing which is a great way to engage the reader. The book is incredibly gripping and left me up late at night as the pace of the book increased more and more making me as the reader more and more interested. This book will have many on the edge of their seats will the drama and may even have you laughing despite the horrific scenery which is occasionally present.

There is not much I can say I disliked about the book. As I said, it was a while before the action of the book started but I would say this was necessary to set the scene. The thing I really did not like about this book *#[Spoiler Alert] is that the perpetrators are not punished in any way, shape or form and literally get away with murder. Yes, ordinarily this would make for an interesting ending to the story. However, the people who got away with the murder and other related activities are all part of the bourgeoisie having come from the middle and upper classes with one of them being the Home Secretary, another being a leading doctor and many of the others being celebrities. This highlights how this section of society can often get away with their criminal conduct. Although one may think this is just fiction, one only has to think about the Covid-19 scandal where senior politicians had their party despite coronavirus restrictions. However, this part of the book isn't really a big criticism and is more of an opinion.

Altogether, I rate this book 3 stars making it a good book as it is an incredibly gripping thriller which will have the reader on the edge of their seats craving the secrets of the pimpernel club and getting more and more eager to get to the bottom of the gruesome murders. This is a book like no other and I would definitely recommend it as you will not be disappointed. I would like to say thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and Harper Collins UK for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest book review.