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The third murder mystery set on the exotic Solomon Islands featuring Sergeant Kella and Sister Conchita.
Sister Conchita, the young nun with a flair for detection, is immersed in another Solomon Islands investigation when an islander who claims to be a reincarnation of Noah is drowned outside his ark. To make matters worse, Conchita suspects that the murderer might be a Japanese soldier, still prowling the jungle fifteen years after the end of World War II.
Once again she enlists the aid of her friend Sergeant Ben Kella of the Solomon Islands Police Force. Together they try and track down the malevolent Killman, a professional assassin who is introducing a reign of terror to the beautiful but dangerous island of Malaita that they both love so much.
This time their perilous quest takes them as far as the wild Polynesian island of Tikopia, the almost legendary tiny island of the four kingdoms.
Sister Conchita, the young nun with a flair for detection, is immersed in another Solomon Islands investigation when an islander who claims to be a reincarnation of Noah is drowned outside his ark. To make matters worse, Conchita suspects that the murderer might be a Japanese soldier, still prowling the jungle fifteen years after the end of World War II.
Once again she enlists the aid of her friend Sergeant Ben Kella of the Solomon Islands Police Force. Together they try and track down the malevolent Killman, a professional assassin who is introducing a reign of terror to the beautiful but dangerous island of Malaita that they both love so much.
This time their perilous quest takes them as far as the wild Polynesian island of Tikopia, the almost legendary tiny island of the four kingdoms.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2013
2 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Graeme Kent
103 books9 followersFor eight years, Graeme Kent was Head of BBC Schools broadcasting in the Solomon Islands. Prior to that he taught in six primary schools in the UK and was headmaster of one. Currently, he is Educational Broadcasting Consultant for the South Pacific Commission.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 3, 2014
I love this series. Completely different from my current Nordic crime phase. A good read on a winter's night.
June 20, 2021
Graeme Kent's Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita historical mystery series is perfect for the armchair traveler, and it's so good that I'd almost give my right arm to have more than three books in the series. The first book, Devil-Devil, was a Best Read of 2011, the second, One Blood, was a Best Read of 2012, and Killman came very close to being a Best Read this year. I am so glad I found it while doing some research.
I am of an age where I remember Japanese soldiers being found in the jungle in areas like the Solomon Islands, either not knowing or refusing to believe that World War II was over twenty and thirty years after the fact. Since Killman is set in the Solomons in 1960, this is a perfect thing to incorporate in a mystery involving mysterious deaths.
Another strong element in the mystery is that of religion. Christianity (and not just Catholicism) has a strong hold in the Solomon Islands, but there are still many who hold on to their pagan beliefs with their strong attachments to the natural world. What Kent brought to life for me was the very real danger of a type of religious war involving the differing beliefs of Christians and of those peoples living in saltwater villages as opposed to those living in the bush (jungle).
The various religions aren't the only things that Kent brings to life. The Solomon Islands themselves play a major role. I can feel myself walking along a beach and breathing in the sea air... or being covered in sweat and slapping mosquitoes as I travel through the jungle and up into the mountains. There are political aspects to life in the islands. The Japanese are showing interest in the natural resources to be found there, and the Americans are showing interest in the Japanese. It's a land still struggling through the aftermath of World War II. Of all the equipment left behind by both the Japanese and the Americans. Of all the wreckage littering land and sea from the battles for Guadalcanal and the other islands.
Kent does such a marvelous job of putting readers in the midst of life in the Solomons. Of the tremendous navigational skills of the Polynesians. Of the eighty different dialects spoken there. Of the towering banyan trees, symbols of eternal life. And of island occupations such as that of tree shouter. It is such a rich culture! One of the characters is an academic gathering island songs for a book she's writing. Kent uses her as an example of the danger academics can face in traveling to remote areas on fact-finding missions. (Whom do you trust to tell you the truth?)
The major thing that makes learning about the area so enjoyable is the pair of Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita. A young Catholic nun from Boston, Sister Conchita chose her name because she thought she was going to be posted to South America, and she wanted a name that the people would find familiar. She thought wrong, but she has adapted to life in the South Pacific beautifully and has become the mainstay of the mission. She also has a flair for deduction which Sergeant Ben Kella reluctantly admits is useful. As Sister Conchita shows us life from an outsider's point of view, Kella has the insider's side of the story, and it's the blending of the two that makes this series so special.
I could wax poetic about this book... the entire series... for page after page, but I won't. This is a series that I hope all of you will give a try, especially if books with a strong sense of place are your favorites. Give island life a try. You can't have two better guides than Sister Conchita and Sergeant Ben Kella.
I am of an age where I remember Japanese soldiers being found in the jungle in areas like the Solomon Islands, either not knowing or refusing to believe that World War II was over twenty and thirty years after the fact. Since Killman is set in the Solomons in 1960, this is a perfect thing to incorporate in a mystery involving mysterious deaths.
Another strong element in the mystery is that of religion. Christianity (and not just Catholicism) has a strong hold in the Solomon Islands, but there are still many who hold on to their pagan beliefs with their strong attachments to the natural world. What Kent brought to life for me was the very real danger of a type of religious war involving the differing beliefs of Christians and of those peoples living in saltwater villages as opposed to those living in the bush (jungle).
The various religions aren't the only things that Kent brings to life. The Solomon Islands themselves play a major role. I can feel myself walking along a beach and breathing in the sea air... or being covered in sweat and slapping mosquitoes as I travel through the jungle and up into the mountains. There are political aspects to life in the islands. The Japanese are showing interest in the natural resources to be found there, and the Americans are showing interest in the Japanese. It's a land still struggling through the aftermath of World War II. Of all the equipment left behind by both the Japanese and the Americans. Of all the wreckage littering land and sea from the battles for Guadalcanal and the other islands.
Kent does such a marvelous job of putting readers in the midst of life in the Solomons. Of the tremendous navigational skills of the Polynesians. Of the eighty different dialects spoken there. Of the towering banyan trees, symbols of eternal life. And of island occupations such as that of tree shouter. It is such a rich culture! One of the characters is an academic gathering island songs for a book she's writing. Kent uses her as an example of the danger academics can face in traveling to remote areas on fact-finding missions. (Whom do you trust to tell you the truth?)
The major thing that makes learning about the area so enjoyable is the pair of Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita. A young Catholic nun from Boston, Sister Conchita chose her name because she thought she was going to be posted to South America, and she wanted a name that the people would find familiar. She thought wrong, but she has adapted to life in the South Pacific beautifully and has become the mainstay of the mission. She also has a flair for deduction which Sergeant Ben Kella reluctantly admits is useful. As Sister Conchita shows us life from an outsider's point of view, Kella has the insider's side of the story, and it's the blending of the two that makes this series so special.
I could wax poetic about this book... the entire series... for page after page, but I won't. This is a series that I hope all of you will give a try, especially if books with a strong sense of place are your favorites. Give island life a try. You can't have two better guides than Sister Conchita and Sergeant Ben Kella.
August 18, 2014
After finishing the second in this series I was not ready to leave the Solomon's so I sent away for a British Ed of the next book. Really love the interesting look at the complex culture of the Solomons. Such an interesting time period as well. Close enough to the end of WWII for that to still loom large in things but also on the cusp of independence from colonial rule so there's all that stuff in there as well. I'll always be happy to visit with Sgt. Kella and the good Sister.
December 18, 2018
The third in the Kella and Conchita series, set in the pre-independence Solomon Islands.
Conchita attends a celebration at a native christian spin-off cult up in the mountains. The cult founder promises a spectacular visitor but before he can arrive the celebration is disrupted by a not-unexpected tropical storm. Feeling uneasy, Conchita struggles through the storm to the "ark" at the centre of the cult to find the founder drowned.
Meanwhile Kella arrives home from a "training" trip to Hong Kong to rumours of two other drowning deaths and fears among the local chiefs that a "killman" (or serial killer) has begun to terrorise Malaita.
An easy read, with plenty of local background.
Conchita attends a celebration at a native christian spin-off cult up in the mountains. The cult founder promises a spectacular visitor but before he can arrive the celebration is disrupted by a not-unexpected tropical storm. Feeling uneasy, Conchita struggles through the storm to the "ark" at the centre of the cult to find the founder drowned.
Meanwhile Kella arrives home from a "training" trip to Hong Kong to rumours of two other drowning deaths and fears among the local chiefs that a "killman" (or serial killer) has begun to terrorise Malaita.
An easy read, with plenty of local background.
January 16, 2026
An interesting and very different detective story. Based in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific not long after the end of WW2, the author draws on the relationships between the various tribes, the colonial authorities on the islands as well as the religious confluence between existing pagan and missionary Christian/Catholic belief systems.
Descriptions of the topography and various flora/fauna also contribute to an intriguing and challenging tale, where the outcome is interwoven like a vine and not evident until the final passages.
Worth a read.
Descriptions of the topography and various flora/fauna also contribute to an intriguing and challenging tale, where the outcome is interwoven like a vine and not evident until the final passages.
Worth a read.
June 1, 2017
Still an enjoyable read, however this was my least favourite of the 3. Kent's style felt different this time. I felt he didn't tie in the cultural references as seamlessly as the previous books and the book's flow didn't feel as polished.
Nonetheless, as usual, the narrative was compelling and wrapped up nicely.
Nonetheless, as usual, the narrative was compelling and wrapped up nicely.
October 10, 2020
I enjoyed the previous two entries in the series but I found this more confusing than anything else. Kent likes his stories to be complicated, I find, and it was all right in the second book but this was just too much for me. Probably didn't help that I read it in three different sittings with substantial time in between.
August 18, 2020
What a wonderful series of books. I wish there were more. I'd like to visit with SGT Kella and Sister Conchita again and learn more about these folks and their cultures. Another intricate story with lots of questions and twists to keep you guessing up to the end.
July 28, 2022
This was a very slow burning plot, with too much talking and not enough happening. The characters didn’t do much for me and the writing didn’t grab me. Granted, I hadn’t read its predecessors, but I’m not even tempted to pick one up.
I guess it’s just not for me. My apologies.
I guess it’s just not for me. My apologies.
August 13, 2022
Entertaining and amusing.
February 14, 2018
Alexander McColl Smith has nothing to worry about. There is no comparison between this author and his writing. This lacks the subtle touches of people observations that you get in McColl Smith's books. Having said that I did quite enjoy the descriptions of the Solomon Islands and reading about their beliefs and customs which are very different from anywhere else.
I chose this as part of my challenge to read books written by authors from different countries round the world or set in countries in different parts of the world.
The story was quite good and kept me interested until near the end when I felt the culprit lacked any real motive for being the Killman and the author was just icing a character at random.
I thought the Japanese element was interesting and had heard that there were Japanese found in the Pacific Islands years after the war was over who were still "at war" for some time.
I wouldn't rush to red another by this author but found this an okay read. It was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end.
I chose this as part of my challenge to read books written by authors from different countries round the world or set in countries in different parts of the world.
The story was quite good and kept me interested until near the end when I felt the culprit lacked any real motive for being the Killman and the author was just icing a character at random.
I thought the Japanese element was interesting and had heard that there were Japanese found in the Pacific Islands years after the war was over who were still "at war" for some time.
I wouldn't rush to red another by this author but found this an okay read. It was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end.
July 23, 2016
Sister Conchita is a guest at a feast when the host, Papa Noah, Is murdered outside his ark by downing in a small puddle. Meanwhile police Sergeant Ben Kella is investigating the murder of two of his followers, also by drowning, but with no water in sight. The villagers of Malaita begin to descend on Sister Conchita’s mission seeking shelter from the Killman. The story is set in 1960 in the Solomon Islands and the author’s recreation of the world of this time and place is masterful. One of the characters is a scholar doing research on pidgin songs about the war and the evocation of the naiveté of ethnographic researchers is hilarious.
May 12, 2014
Once again Graeme Kent comes through. This is the third in what I hope will be a long series of mysteries set in the Solomon Islands circa 1960. These are page turners and driven by the reader understanding and caring about motivations quite foreign to the Western world. So settings and customs change, people stay the same throughout time and location. Beyond the fun of a gripping mystery, Kent's characters emerge with a great deal of charm and charisma. Killman provides an intelligent, exotic escape. Like all great books, I hated to see it end.
January 8, 2014
I think this series is improving as it develops. Three murders, the possibility of a Japanese soldier living in the hills and unaware the war has ended, a cult which combines Christian and pagan beliefs, an American academic researching pidgin songs....these strange ingredients combine to produce a most complex mystery for Sgt Kella and Sister Conchita to solve. There is nothing predictable about the outcome, making it all the more interesting, and as ever, the author's personal knowledge of the Solomon Islands pervades the book and gives it a strong sense of place.
January 12, 2021
This book has been compared favourably with the No1 Ladies Detective Agency series, but, for me, there was no comparison. The stories of Precious Ramotse are far superior to this. I found this book to be very slow in places, the plot weighed down by extraneous detail and descriptions. The characters were fairly well-written, but I struggled to maintain interest in the story. I don't think I'll be trying any others in this series.
December 31, 2021
Ok, I've read at least one of Kent's earlier Kella and Conchita mysteries but don't find that I've reviewed it here. And it is probably my first and only author on this shelf. The Solomon Islands must be a fascinating place if there's any truth to Kent's writing -- tropical, hot and muggy, buggy, filled with old and new gods and surrounded by water. This one concerns Japanese military interests left over from WWII and how cultures come together in this unique environment. A great read.
February 19, 2015
Delightful mystery featuring the catholic nun and the pagan policeman in a society in transition.
April 11, 2014
*moves to Solomon Islands*
April 28, 2017
Charming and intriguing mystery set in 1960s Solomon Islands. Sergeant Ben Kella and feisty nun Sister Conchita investigate the mysterious death of the leader of a religious cult. They join forces to follow up rumours that a lone Japanese soldier, left behind after WWII, may be responsible.
I think this is the best book in an excellent series. The fragile balance between paganism and Christianity on the islands is skilfully conveyed, as are the power games of the post-colonial era, and the relationship between Kella and Sister Conchita is touching and sincere. The plot is an interesting and well-constructed one, and this is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery.
I think this is the best book in an excellent series. The fragile balance between paganism and Christianity on the islands is skilfully conveyed, as are the power games of the post-colonial era, and the relationship between Kella and Sister Conchita is touching and sincere. The plot is an interesting and well-constructed one, and this is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews