Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Start discussion here for Devil-Devil by Graeme Kent.


About the Book (from the publisher)

It’s not easy being Ben Kella. As a sergeant in the Solomon Islands Police Force, as well as an aofia, a hereditary spiritual peacekeeper of the Lau people, he is viewed with distrust by both the indigenous islanders and the British colonial authorities. In
the past few days he has been cursed by a magic man, stumbled across evidence of a cargo cult uprising, and failed to find an American anthropologist who had been scouring the mountains for a priceless pornographic icon. Then, at a mission station, Kella discovers an independent and rebellious young American nun, Sister Conchita, secretly trying to bury a skeleton. The unlikely pair of Kella and Conchita are forced to team up to solve a series of murders that tie into all these other strange goings-on. Set in the 60’s in one of the most beautiful and dangerous areas of the South Pacific, Devil-Devil launches an exciting new series.


About the Author (from the publisher)

For eight years Graeme Kent was Head of Schools broadcasting out in the Solomon Islands so he writes from personal experience of his time out there. Prior to that Graeme taught in six primary schools in the UK, and was headmaster of one. Currently he is Educational Broadcasting Consultant for the South Pacific Commission - and a full time writer.

I finished reading DEVIL-DEVIL a couple of days ago. I gave it a 5/5. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I loved the descriptions of the land and the culture. The characters were interesting too. And I liked how all the mystery threads were woven together.

As I was reading, I had flashbacks to the South Seas stories by Jack London I'd read a few years back. London's tales were set in earlier times, of course, but because I'd read those, I felt like I already knew a little about the Solomon Islands.

And as I saw Ben trying to balance his police work and his role of aofia peacemaker, I also thought of Jim Chee in Toni Hillerman's books. Jim is a police officer while still working to become a Navajo healer. There are differences in the characters of Ben and Jim, but the idea of reconciling cultural ties is similar.

And speaking of similar characters, I also think there's a touch of Hamish Macbeth (M C Beaton) in Ben. Both prefer working in there home communities rather than being in the larger city. And they both tend to follow the dictates of their own hearts.

Sister Conchita is quite a gal too! Fun. Anyway, the book didn't pretend to be high literature. Instead, it was a good mystery with a unique setting and engaging characters. For me, it was a satisfying read.

lanlynk wrote: "I finished reading DEVIL-DEVIL a couple of days ago. I gave it a 5/5. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I loved the descriptions of the land and the culture. The characters were interesting too. And I..."

You’ve given me a most excellent nudge to get to DD!

I started this. I am enjoying it so far.

I’m about 70 pages in, and it’s okay, but not compelling. I’m not at all sure why. I’ll stick with it but keep picking up other reads first which is an indicator, lol.

@diane, you’re typically a fast reader. What did you think?

Carol wrote: "I’m about 70 pages in, and it’s okay, but not compelling. I’m not at all sure why. I’ll stick with it but keep picking up other reads first which is an indicator, lol.

@diane, you’re typically a ..."

I liked it. It's a fast read, too.

My copy should arrive in the mail soon; I’m looking forward to it, and it’s good to hear folks have mostly liked reading it.

I've now read a bit over half of the book, and I have mixed feelings. I like how the book details the societal dynamics and cultural beliefs of the Solomon Islands, and the relations between the colonisers and the colonised. And while the book is easy to read, I find it a bit slow in terms of the mystery storytelling. It feels as if the mystery story is actually secondary to the author's desire to describe life on the Solomon Islands.

This was a fun mystery and a delightful way to be introduced to a culture I knew next to nothing about previously.

I enjoyed the mystery a lot, even though I thought the opening section was a bit muddled in the explanation of the bones tabu and Kella's initial investigations into those events. I liked the partnership between Kella and Sister Conchita, although I wish there had been more interactions between the two. I also liked the background into the Lau people, and would love to see what the Lau Lagoon looks like in person. I wonder if Kent will keep the mysteries on the island of Malaita in future books, or whether he will move the protagonists around the country, in such a fashion as authors like Colin Cotterill, Kwei Quartey, and Alexander McCall Smith have done with Laos, Ghana, and Botswana, respectively.

Mome_Rath wrote: "I enjoyed the mystery a lot, even though I thought the opening section was a bit muddled in the explanation of the bones tabu and Kella's initial investigations into those events. I liked the partn..."

I read the backflap of the two other books in the series and it looks like the location changes.