Synopses & Reviews
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE TROUBLES TRILOGY AND DETECTIVE SEAN DUFFY NOVELS
Colonial New Guinea — 1906: a small group of mostly German nudists live an extreme back-to-nature existence on the remote island of Kabakon. Eating only coconuts and bananas, they purport to worship the sun. One of their members — Max Lutzow — has recently died, allegedly from malaria. But an autopsy on his body in the nearby capital of Herbertshöhe raises suspicions about foul play.
Retired British military police officer Will Prior is recruited to investigate the circumstances of Lutzow’s death. At first, the eccentric group seems friendly and willing to cooperate with the investigation. They all insist that Lutzow died of malaria. Despite lack of evidence for a murder, Prior is convinced that the group is hiding something.
Things come to a head during a late-night feast supposedly given as a send-off for the visitors before they return to Herbertshöhe. Prior fears that the intent of the “celebration” is not to fete the visitors but to make them the latest murder victims.
Review
“The writing resembles Joseph Conrad without the layers of hard-to-understand impressionistic writing or Graham Greene without the Catholic guilt….Entertaining.” Buffalo News
Review
“McKinty’s gift for storytelling is evident…his fascinating tale is rich in detail, and there’s a most unexpected hero.” RT Book Reviews
Review
“That the story of the Cocoivores is true makes it all the more fascinating and an intriguing frame for this entertaining and unusual historical mystery.” Booklist
Synopsis
Colonial New Guinea, 1906. A small group of mostly German nudists live an extreme back-to-nature existence on the remote island of Kabakon. Eating only coconuts and bananas, they purport to worship the sun. One of their members, Max Lutzow, has recently died, allegedly from malaria. But an autopsy on his body in the nearby capital of Herbertsh he raises suspicions about foul play.
Retired British military police officer Will Prior is recruited to investigate the circumstances of Lutzow's death. At first, the eccentric group seems friendly and willing to cooperate with the investigation. They all insist that Lutzow died of malaria. Despite lack of evidence for a murder, Prior is convinced the group is hiding something.
Things come to a head during a late-night feast supposedly given as a send-off for the visitors before they return to Herbertsh he. Prior fears the intent of the "celebration" is not to fete the visitors--but to make them the latest murder victims.
About the Author
Adrian McKinty is the author of fourteen previous novels, including Dead I Well May Be, Fifty Grand, Falling Glass, and, most recently, the Detective Sean Duffy novels The Cold Cold Ground, I Hear the Sirens in the Street, and In the Morning I'll Be Gone. Born and raised in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, McKinty was called "the best of the new generation of Irish crime novelists" in the Glasgow Herald.