The plot is good and the resolution of the plot good. The characterizations are good. But the characters are on an island and there is a hurricane coming, and the effects of the hurricane on the house where they are staying read like something from a disaster movie. Essentially, it seems like someone built a house on a Caribbean island that was made of tinkertoys and tissue paper, so that if any hurricane hit anywhere within 50 miles the house would disintegrate. I recognize the power of hurricanes but found it utterly laughable that essentially a brand new house was guaranteed to be destroyed if a hurricane hit, and then it went up (or down) spectacularly.
what you say is true, but I still really liked the book and the entire series. I find it SO much better than the much more numerous Death on Demand series. it’s well written and generally worth reading…but deeply flawed, IMO.
I have enjoyed the Bryant & May series by Christopher Fowler. They have led to much enjoyment researching some of the plot points (underground rivers and subways of London, Punch & Judy shows). Mostly set in the City of London present day, but some flashbacks to their earlier career during WWII.
I had also googled ‘cozy mysteries’ and found lists of series of books that are fluffy reading, but enjoyable. The lead characters have a gimmick (building contractor who sees ghosts, teashop owner, scrapbook store owner in New Orleans, haunted bookstore owner etc). Some are just plain silly (scrapbook store mysteries sound like the author was playing with her Barbies and making up adventures, but the New Orleans color was fun).