The Sea Grape Tree: A Novel

Shad #3

by Gillian Royes

Set in a sun-kissed Caribbean paradise, this third book in the Shad detective series explores a love triangle gone wrong—and how class divisions create a perfect storm of trouble.Sarah, a talented but shy artist from England, arrives at the perfect getaway—a small fishing village in Largo Bay, Jamaica. There she falls in love with Danny, a wealthy investor with a hotel in Largo Bay. Soon Sarah runs into trouble with her host as well as Danny’s local lover, Janet. Sarah’s fate, as well as that of Danny’s hotel, become endangered. Meanwhile, Shad Myers—“bartender by trade, investigator by vocation, and unofficial sheriff of Largo Bay” (Publishers Weekly)—has another set of problems to solve, alongside his friend Eric, an American who owns the bar. The two friends entertain a new potential investor in their quest to rebuild their hotel left in ruins by a hurricane. Eric wants to make Shad a partner in the business, not just a worker. But first the two must overcome the class divisions that make it difficult for local partners in the business to accept Shad’s new, more important role. With a delicious blend of suspense and soul, The Sea Grape Tree explores the class divisions in Jamaica—and what happens when a love triangle becomes life threatening. Gillian Royes once again delivers a vivid, thought-provoking novel with passion and punch that is sure to leave her fans wanting more.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Gillian Royes was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She attended Colorado College and later went on to the University of Wisconsin and Emory University, where she earned a doctorate in American Studies. Royes is the author of The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, Business Is Good, and Sexcess: The New Gender Rules at Work. She lives in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was shelved in the library as mystery, but the mystery part didn't start until after page 200. Mostly it's a story of relationships: Shad's partner Beth wants to get married after living together for 20 years and having four children with him; Eric is trying to work with an investor from the U.S. to build a new hotel in Jamaica; Sarah, a white woman, is trying to come to grips with her attraction to a black man.

The setting is Jamaica and most of the characters are Jamaican. A lot of the dialogue is in patois rather than standard English, but it is not hard to understand.

[pdxmaven]

3rd in the series, this one features an English tourist/artist on a get-away gone array, and raises the issues of the hopes from an American investment for the re-building of Eric's hurricane-shattered hotel but with it the possibility of being scammed and the changes in roles for the bar-tender, Shad. Also one increasingly gets insight into the life of the Jamaican families living in this small village.

[Joan]

No mention of Jenna. A little chauvinism ("who's going to take care of the children"). Women taking charge of their lives. The investigating didn't start until two-thirds of the way in the book. Just when you think a person's action is based on love and jealousy, you find out it's crazier than that.

[B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't care how "culturally accurate" an author is attempting to be. I cannot stand people who use poor grammar.