Adrian McKinty is the author of three other crime novels, some of which have won awards. From what I have read about his other novels, this is a departure in style for McKinty, whose other novels are rather dark and gritty.
The novel's protagonist, Will Prior, is damaged from the Boer War in which he served as a military policeman. After a series of intentional and self-inflicted mishaps, Will is kicked out of the military - something he is quite happy with.
A few years later, Will is living in quiet happiness in Herbertshohe, in German New Guinea. This changes one morning when Will is asked by some of the notable people in his community to solve a murder that happened on the nearby island of Kabakon.
The events that happened on Kabakon embody the old saying ''truth is stranger than fiction''. A group of practising nudists, led by August Engelhardt, lived on Kabakon for 18 years surviving on little more than coconuts. They called themselves Cocovores and worshipped the sun - eating coconuts because of their closeness to the sky.
I applaud McKinty for writing about such an interesting and little-known piece of history, but aside from the wacky, unusual period of history its set in, the novel didn't really do that much for me.
The mystery itself was not engaging, and the ending gave me little satisfaction. Will spends the majority of the novel wandering around Kabakon in a hazy state asking questions to inhabitants until he slowly uncovers the truth of the murder.
It's a very slow-paced mystery, which some people are bound to enjoy, but personally I found it slightly lacking.
- Fiona Glasgow is a University of Otago library assistant.
