Devil-Devil

Kella and Conchita Mysteries #1

by Graeme Kent

It's 1960 and Sergeant Ben Kella of the Solomon Islands police force is only a few days into a routine patrol of the most beautiful yet dangerous and primitive areas of the South Pacific. Yet, already, he has been cursed by a magic man, stumbled across evidence of a cult uprising and failed to find an American anthropologist who has been scouring the mountainous jungle in search of a priceless erotic icon. To complicate matters further, at a local mission station, Kella discovers the redoubtable Sister Conchita secretly trying to bury a skeleton, before a mysterious gunman tries to kill her. Mission-educated yet an aofia -- the traditional peacemaker of the islands -- Kella is forced to link up with Sister Conchita, an independent and rebellious young American nun, in order to track down the perpetrators of a series of bizarre murders . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Adult

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2011

About the author

For 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.

Reviews

[April (Aprilius Maximus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off really strong and I loved learning about the different cultures of the Solomon Islands, but I didn't get those feelings of shock, thrill and excitement that I would normally expect from a book of this genre (murder mystery) and it seemed almost anti-climactic.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and interesting read, but for me it probably wasn't strong enough to continue with the series.

Sergeant Ben Kella of the Solomon Islands police force is digging himself into a hole of trouble again. Educated both at home and abroad, and currently trying to reconcile his twin vocations as a hereditary cultural peacemaker and a literal law enforcement officer, Ben is supposed to be staying out of the affairs of the different peoples of the island of Malaita. But when he is sent there to try to locate the American anthropologist, Doctor Mallory, Ben is caught up in the mystery of the death of a perfectly undistinguished villager. For Ben it's not really a mystery, as it's clear to him that the old man was murdered by fellow villagers - but who? Then when a couple more people are killed, and someone starts taking shots at young American nun, Sister Conchita, the plot really thickens.

Closer to the cosy end of the crime spectrum, albeit with a few tense scenes, the main point of difference for this book was the setting. The Solomon Islands of 1960 were still under British rule, giving the author scope to contrast the cultural differences between the indigenous people and the foreign settlers, but also to show how both created conflict within the main character of Ben Kella. Both Sergeant Kella and Sister Conchita were great characters, but weirdly I never felt like I really knew them very well because I didn't know what they looked like! Many other minor and even incidental characters were described in detail, but not the two most important ones.

The author spent a number of years working in the Solomon Islands and his familiarity with the expat experience is evident, although I think setting the story in 1960 may have given him licence to blur the edges a little.

[Rusalka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This. This book was perfect for Singapore. I couldn't quite get my head into a space with Norwegian Wood, where I could imagine snow. What I needed after that, was somewhere where there was 28C temp and 85% humidity like Singapore. This book filled it. So what about it?

Straight up.
This book had 1 major error that I had problems getting past. It just SCREAMED(!) outsider (it was written by a Brit who had lived in the Solomons). All these intelligent islanders, were sent to Australia for an education. If, and I understand they were in the 60s, they had the unfortunate experience of drinking XXXX, they would know to spell it XXXX. As an Aussie, you spell it XXXX.

Not, definitely not, 4X.

The whole joke is "Why is spelt XXXX? Because Queenslanders can't spell Beer!".

Bah.

So with all that aside. Murder mystery. Traditional culture vs colonial culture clash. Hiking around the bush in the heat and the humidity. The fact that there were too many fallible characters that any one of them could be the killer. Grumpy, precocious nun.

You like the main character Ben Kella. He is straddling a world that is drastically changing, which he knows and has to balance them both. He is the traditional peace keeper of his traditional culture, yet a policeman of the new world order. You respect him and empathise with him.

Same with Nun-face (yes I called her nun-face. I call everyone whats-his-face if I don't know their name and I have no idea how to pronounce the rest of her South American name, so nun-face will have to do). You respect her for what she is doing and where she is. Also, as much of me resents it, in the 1960s it was probably the most amount of independence she was going to get (as a woman, to become a nun and end up in the Pacific).

Best read ever? No. But fun read? Yes. Nice murder mystery? Yes. Nice Pacific Island read? Yup. Read it. It gives you perspective, and education (it comes with a map inside! Bonus!) and I think shines light on a place that hasn't got that much light shining on it (what is it with the lack of Pacific fiction? Seriously?). 4 stars.

For more reviews visit http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/

[Shomeret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fascinated by the idea of a mystery taking place in the Solomon Islands, so I couldn't wait to read this one. I loved both the protagonists. Both Sergeant Kella and Sister Conchita are mavericks who do what's right even if they get into loads of hot water as a result. I also really liked the customs and rituals from the native culture which Kent shares with us in this book. It reminded me of The Coroner's Lunchwhich takes place in Laos and also has a protagonist who participates in traditional practices like Sergeant Kella. Yet I felt that Kent is more distant from his characters than Colin Cotterill. So it lacked immediacy and dramatic intensity for me.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this "who dunnit" murder mystery set in the Solomon Islands.
Having been to Honiara this year it was easy for me to picture the scene.
I loved the rebellious young American nun, Sister Conchita. Always good to have a spunky nun in a story!
The writing for me was enjoyable in a relaxed narrative. I also enjoyed the mystical side intwined into the story along with the goodies and the baddies.
Will certainly look for the other books in this 3 part series.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my collection of mysteries in exotic settings, Devil-Devil is set in the Solomon Islands in 1960. Beautiful setting, charming protagonists, and a variety of challenges unique to the time and place. In particular, the post-WWII cultural and religious tensions between the native people and the British colonizers. There's a cargo cult! Quick, fun read.

[Dlmrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 Around the World read: Solomon Islands…I really liked the immersion into the culture of the Solomon Islands and the 2 main characters, especially Kella and his struggle with being “aofia” but also being part of the Solomon Islands police force! I also like the bit of mysticism intertwined in the story.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lot different than what I expected. Initially, it was really slow going, but I ended up really liking it. It's a very well thought out mystery. I really liked the mixture of the cultures, the small moments of humor, and the characters. I know there are people who can figure out who is responsible before the ending, but I am not one of those people. In this particular book, there were a couple of different mysteries that needed to be solved. I was stuck and there were moments where I was surprised at the resolution that was reached. Turns out the kidnapped guy was having a really good time, wink wink. In addition, there was a really good ending and it was satisfying.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Line: Sister Conchita clung to the sides of the small dugout canoe as the waves pounded over the frail vessel, soaking its two occupants.

It is 1960 in the Solomon Islands, which saw some of the fiercest fighting during World War II (Guadalcanal among other battles). Memories of those days are still vivid. Sergeant Ben Kella of the Solomon Islands Police Force knows those days quite well, but he has many other things on his mind. Educated by the whites and now a member of their police force, Kella is still the aofia (spiritual peacekeeper) of the Lau people. His dual roles mean that neither the British colonial government nor the native peoples trust him 100%.

New to the islands is Sister Conchita, a young Catholic nun from Chicago who chose her name because she thought she was being posted to South America and wanted to fit in. She wants to learn native customs and to help these people as much as she possibly can. Her vows of poverty and chastity won't be problems for her, but her vow of obedience may be a backbreaker. Her impetuous desire for doing the right thing means bent and broken rules everywhere she goes:

"In any case, it had always been her philosophy that it was better to apologize profusely after the event than to neglect an opportunity when it arose."


Sergeant Kella has been busy. Within a matter of a few days, he's been cursed by a shaman, stumbled across evidence of an uprising, and been unable to find a missing American anthropologist. When he stops at one of the mission stations, he finds Sister Conchita trying to bury a skeleton on the sly. Little does he know that he'll soon be teaming up with Sister Conchita to solve a series of murders that tie in with all these strange happenings.

Plain and simple-- I loved this book. Author Graeme Kent was a Schools Broadcasting Officer in the Solomon Islands during the 1960s, and he immersed me in the culture of the place without being heavy-handed or pedantic. He also painted a vivid portrait of the Solomons during World War II with a very few strokes... just enough to fire the imagination and illuminate portions of the plot.

The two main characters, Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita, are two of the most interesting characters that I've come across recently in crime fiction. With their differences in culture and temperament and their similar penchant for doing what they think right regardless of the prattling of their superiors, they are going to make a wonderful crime-fighting team. (They're pretty good at cracking jokes, too.)

I can't wait for more books to appear in this series!

[Pamela Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because it has a slew of interesting, believable characters, two very likable protagonists, a intriguing, complicated plot, and a fascinating setting: still-colonial Solomon Islands in 1960. Sergeant Ben Kella uncomfortably bridges two worlds and two worldviews as the highest ranking native policeman in the islands, as well as the aofia, or hereditary peacemaker (and effectively head) of his tribe. His British bosses don't know quite what to do with him: some value his vast cultural competence and diplomacy, others object to his independent insistence on going beyond his assignments to seek his idea of justice, but none of them really understand the "custom" situations he deals with. He has a new acquaintance, the brash, curious, young American nun Sister Conchita, who shares his independence of mind, desire to right wrongs, and tendency to stick one's nose into everything. Someone is trying to kill Sister Conchita, and since the aofia is charged with protecting the defenseless, Sgt Kella must find out who and stop him; he also needs to solve several murders and find a missing anthropologist. Is everything connected? I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately started reading it again, though part of that is because the plot is so tricky I didn't quite get it the first time. It has inspired me to learn everything I can about Solomon Islands, though this book is still my best source for such knowledge. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel One Blood soon.
Despite its educational value, I personally probably wouldn't give this book to a young teenager because of the suggestion (bolstered by a Catholic priest) that all faiths are valid, and the implication that recreational sex is fine. There are two sex scenes, not really explicit.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think of Sister Bertrille and Carlos from "The Flying Nun" (set not that much later in an "exotic" tropical location also) and you'll get the idea, though that's not an exact parallel. Sister Conchita is very much the pre-feminist model of the early 1960's, dodging bullets, engaging generally in events more suited to Mrs. Pollifax than the Singing Nun. Sgt. Kella, the local bi-cultural (between two worlds) super cop, didn't impress me all that much; then again, I find "dual identity" angst grating in general. The one character whom I particularly liked was Father Pierre, who'd lived in the islands for many years, and was suspected as having "gone native" in his respect for indigenous beliefs. Cardboard British officials, and nasty, violent villains round out the lot. Still. I'm not sorry I bought the book, just that I don't see myself going on with the series. So, this one's recommended At Your Own Risk if you're interested in trying out a series set in a remote locale.

As a note on the audio narration, Price-Lewis does a decent job with local and English voices, but her American repertoire seems limited to a Boston accent for Sister Conchita that sounded almost Brooklyn-ish to me. She re-uses almost the exact same voice for the two American males who appear later in the book, making them seem almost cartoonish, especially since one is an academic, and the other specifically identified as being from Chicago.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The exotic setting of the Solomon Islands lends enchantment to this thriller and the pairing, albeit tentatively, of the native Sergeant Ben Kella and the American nun, Sister Conchita, works well. Their relationship is often puzzling but there is plenty of humour and also mutual respect.

Set in 1960 the miscellaneous array of characters is sometimes difficult to take in and what they are doing is also sometimes confusing. But perhaps the latter is what we should expect from a thriller!

Sergeant Kella sets out to find an American anthropologist who has disappeared in the hinterland while searching for a priceless erotic icon. It turns out that there is smuggling ring dealing in artefacts and Kella and Conchita eventually uncover it and arrest the main man, despite attempts being made on their lives along the way.

In addition a series of seemingly unconnected murders take place and it is all credit to Sergeant Kella that he discovers what they are all about, something which could, possibly, escape the reader, including this one! But overall the setting and the strange array of characters keeps the attention until the end.

[Phair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitate to list this on my historical mystery shelf as the setting is 1960s- I'm not ready to admit to that as *history* quite yet. While the mystery itself was almost hum-drum (complex but far from exciting), I loved the unusual setting and time period. These are characters and a culture I will enjoy getting to know as the series progresses. Loved the south-seas feel of it. This is going to be an interesting series to follow.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started really well and promised to be an interesting read but ultimately let me down. I loved the historical and cultural context and background to the story, would have liked a bit more focus on that. However, the plot was fairly random and complex with a whole load of characters that I couldn't keep track of, few of whom seemed realistic or relatable. About half way through I became bored and spent the rest of the book looking forward to finishing it...

[Lemar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery involving clues that can only be deciphered by the insights into traditional customs of the Solomon Islanders. The main characters are witty, likable and strongly realized. In addition to a tight plot and clever solution the novel introduces one to the sociology of this tropical corner of the world in a way that is anything but stodgy.

[Viva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mystery based in the Solomon Islands. One of the two main characters is Ben Kella, a native police sergeant who is also the aofia (the hereditary peacemaker of his Lau people). Apparently this is a position which is chosen at a young age. He is a bridge between the white expat community and the native community. One thing I learned is that the indigenous community is very diverse and fractured, with many different ethnic groups living in the different islands and even different parts of the same island. This is due to the different waves of humans who settled in the islands during different periods of time during the past thousands of years and each wave and island group stayed in their own communities with different cultures and languages.

The other main character is the novice Catholic nun Conchita from Boston(?). She plays a fairly inconsequential part in this first book, considering that many of the other characters in this book play as much of a part as she does, though I am sure she will be a larger recurring character in the series.

I love mysteries based in other countries because there is so much to learn and this book is a great example. I read about many things I didn't know about in the Solomon Islands from the culture to politics, histories, local stories, peoples, etc. This in itself makes for a good read and is 1/3 of a mystery book I look for (the setting).

The second part are the characters and the author does a good enough job. Each character is very well written, fully fleshed and alive. Maybe some of them are cliched but accurate enough because stereotypes do have some truth in them. We get the drunks, the evil businessman, the expats, etc.

Spoiler:
The last part is the mystery, which revolves around a lot of little things, from a 20 year old unearthed skeleton to two fresh murders to a missing academic to smuggling. All of them somewhat are connected. There is not a whole lot of suspense, this is the hardest part to write in a mystery but the author does a pretty good job.

Overall, I loved this book for the characters and the setting. The mystery part was ok. I would definitely read another in this series for the first two.

[Julie Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mystery set in the Solomons just before Independence is like taking an actual trip and being immersed in the culture. Very detailed and a good introduction to a culture I knew little about.
Ben Kella is a bit of a misfit with the Colonial police in the Solomon Islands. As a young boy he was identified as an achiever and educated on and off the Islands, yet he still follows the customs and ways of his fellow saltwater tribe and takes his role as the peacemaker seriously. This causes conflict at times with his superiors and with his kinsmen. He's treading carefully when he's called in for the death of a man who is proclaimed a victim of murder by the ghost speaker. The man's closest relative disappears and is later found murdered himself. Kella already has enough on his plate trying to resolve this situation without escalating violence or incurring the disapproval of his superiors when he becomes involved with the discovery of a body that was probably someone he knew that disappeared during the Japanese invasion of WWII 18 years previously. This brings him into contact with an unstoppable force of nature, Sister Conchita, and the two end up running for their lives in the bush interior. More questions pile up: who wants to kill the Sister? Where is the missing anthropologist that Kella was originally charged with finding? Why are people being murdered, and what does a missing artifact have to do with this? As we follow Kella, and Conchita, readers are introduced to the cultures of various islands and groups of people, the history and politics of the Solomons post WWII and just before independence in 1978. The reader learns about the three kinds of war clubs, the way homes are built, how artificial islands are made, even about the role of the British authorities and the Catholic church. Unlike some books set in exotic (to us) locations but could take place anywhere, this is solidly grounded in place and culture. Kella and Conchita are both interesting and likeable characters and continue on with several other books in this series. Good for mystery lovers (not gruesome, almost but not quite cozy) and armchair travelers alike.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know nothing about the Solomon Islands and only recently memorised its location on a map, so when this was recommended to me I ordered it from the library immediately. It's a mesmerising setting, making for a bit of a difficult start to the book with a lot of exposition needed to get us situated. Eventually, though, it made for a fascinating mystery whose strands were deeply intertwined with the islands, their indigenous beliefs, and tribal ties.

The protagonists were also a strength of the book. Sister Conchita is headstrong and hilarious. Ben Kella is a bit too good to be true, to be honest, with everyone singing his praises and even his cantankerous superior on the police force acknowledging his prowess on the rugby field. He has his work cut out for him being not only the main senior Melanesian police officer on a British-run police force, but also as the peacemaker of his people, appointed at just ten years old.

Admittedly, the mystery was rather complicated in addition to complex, but it stitched its multiple strands together very well. I'm looking forward to reading the second in this series.

[Rhoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my read the world selection for Solomon Islands.

Ben Kella is a sergeant in the Solomon Islands police force as well as an aofia, a hereditary spiritual peacekeeper of the Lau people and so is viewed with distrust by both the indigenous islanders and the British colonial authorities.

When in just a few days he has been cursed by a magic man, found evidence of a cargo cult uprising, failed to find a missing anthropologist and met a rebellious young American nun surreptitiously trying to bury a skeleton, he finds himself inundated with strange goings-on which he knows he is going to have to solve.

This was another country that was difficult to find much written by a local author, so had to go with one that lived there for almost a decade. It does provide a good introduction into local custom and folklore, as well as a bit on the relationships between the locals and the colonizers (this book was set in 1960).

The story itself I would say was just ok. It certainly wasn’t terrible, but I did find it a little convoluted with a lot of characters that were a challenge to keep track of. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

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DEVIL-DEVIL – Graeme Kent
Posted on June 1, 2011 by Beth

Sergeant Ben Kella plays two roles in the Solomon Islands in the early 1960′s. He is a member of the Solomon Islands Police Force and he is an aofia, a spiritual peacekeeper of the Lau people, a role for which he was chosen when he was a child. Kella is an educated islander, hand-picked by his teachers at the Catholic school to attend a university in Australia. From there, he went for further training in police procedures in Great Britain as well as to work with the NYPD in Manhattan. All of these steps have guaranteed that Kella is accepted by neither the islanders nor the whites, especially those members of the British government who still control the Solomon Islands.

It is the early ’6o’s and tribal customs still hold sway over the majority of islanders who try to balance the old ways with the Christian education and conversions to Christianity that have been changing the society and culture of the islands. Sister Conchita of the Marist Mission Sisters has no such conflicts. An American and a Catholic by birth, she is a missionary by choice, a choice made willingly and bolstered by a deep commitment to the people she serves in the Pacific Islands. Bound by a vow of obedience to her bishop and to the director of her order, she is, nonetheless, blatantly outspoken and inclined to act before giving full consideration to the consequences. Believed by her bishop to be fully occupied by her various duties – looking after the native sisters, exporting the carvings made by the boys in the mission school, keeping the books for the mission station, supervising the medical center, inspecting the other schools in the region, and running the farm – Sister Conchita has no time to get into trouble.

Sister Conchita and Ben Kella could not be more different in their approaches to life but when they are brought together through strange circumstances, they make a formidable pair.

The American nun, new to the islands, makes an interesting first impression when she takes on John Deacon, one of the few white ex-patriots living in the Solomons. John Deacon smuggles antiquities by mixing priceless objects with copies made by school boys destined to be sold in down-market gift shops in Australia and Hawaii. Being called out by a nun, a Praying Mary, in front of his hirelings earns Sister Conchita a powerful enemy.

Ben Kella has a very different problem. Professor Mallory, an American anthropologist, is missing. He hasn’t been seen since he went into the mountains to find a pornographic icon that is worth a fortune. Ben’s life has been seriously complicated by a bones curse, a cargo cult uprising, a person who was murdered twice, and the discovery of the body of a man who disappeared during the Japanese occupation.

It is while Kella is watching the mission cemetery, looking for whoever was unearthing bones for the curse, that he meets Sister Conchita smuggling a skeleton into the cemetery, rather than out of it. There is just too much trafficking in bones, curses and all. The story is full of interesting people living in a part of the world very much underrepresented in crime fiction.

Ben Kella and Sister Conchita are great additions to Soho publishing’s list of memorable characters. They fit right in with those created by Leighton Gage, Cara Black, Jassy Mackenzie, David Downing, Matt Beynon Rees, and Peter Lovesey among others.

DEVIL-DEVIL is more than a great mystery. Graeme Kent provides an absorbing look at the world in 1960, a world only fifteen years beyond World War II. The Allies were successful in driving the Japanese out of Guadalcanal but only after six months of heavy fighting. Ben Kella is in his early thirties in the book but was a soldier fighting with the British against the occupying Japanese forces when he was only fourteen. Communication among the far-reaching communities in the Solomon Islands are conducted by radio each night. The British still control the islands as part of the British empire.

The author makes frequent reference to the Marching Rule, which may be a corruption of the term Maasina Ruru which refers to emancipation from the colonial government by the British. The movement may well have grown out of the respectful treatment the islanders received from African-American soldiers with whom they worked. The islanders formed the Solomon Islands Labor Corps which assisted with the allied war effort between 1942 and 1946. Even more fascinating are the references to “cargo custom”. There is a “cargo cult” in the Pacific Islands that developed from the islanders experience with the American GI’s. Airfields were built on the islands to allow tanks, refrigeration units, guns and ammunition, communication instruments, clothes, and food to be delivered to support US troops. Later, some of the same things were dropped from cargo planes onto the islands. To the islanders, these were gifts from the gods, especially one particularly generous one known as “Jon Frum”. The dark skin natives believed all these benefits came from black American soldiers who marched off the islands to battle but would be reborn and return to lead the islanders against their oppressors. It is thought that the name of this deity came from solders who introduced themselves as “John from America”. There is no question that cargo cults exist; whether the story about Jon Frum is true isn’t important. It is simply a really good story and a believable one in that the name “John” is so simple to remember.

I do love the internet and I love writers who love the countries about which they write and so teach their readers about the people and their customs. Who says mysteries are mindless entertainment?
.

Soho publishes books that are unfailingly entertaining and absorbing, showcasing the works of authors who live and breathe the atmosphere of the countries they bring to life on the pages of their books. If it is from Soho, it is worth reading.

[Prue Mansfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my reading-round-the Pacific. Broke my self imposed rule about no whitey writers, writing about indigenous matters, in my desperation to find novels. Kent had lived and worked around the Solomons for some years. The book was ok. Interesting were the way the customary beliefs and practices of the Malaitans and other islanders were used to move the plot forward; the differences in beliefs and culture of the various islander groups; the role and views of the whiteys. The not so good - I wondered if in fact the plot was structured to allow the author to demonstrate his knowledge; how much stereotyping cliches were included...sexually insatiable Sikaiana women, even thought the whitey was old and ugly, and the religious influence of the missionaries is profound; theft of artefacts; good but mostly less good administrators, planters, missionaries. There may be kernels of truth in all of them. Hard to place in a timeframe, trucks not cars, radios not phones.

[Sue Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable mystery set in the 1960s Solomon Islands. Ben Kella is a man between two worlds. He is the aofia or peacemaker for his tribe on the island of Malaita, but has also received a western education and chosen a career in the colonial police force and his traditional religion. Sister Conchita is a mission sister from Boston whose overactive curiosity is frowned upon by the order. When a traditional ghost speaker pronounces the death of an old man to be murder Kella knows the police commissioner isn't going to take it seriously, unlike the discovery of the skeleton of a white man who went missing during WWII. And when the old man's grandson is found dead in the holy sanctum of a neighbouring tribe, Kella also knows that the events are related because this many events just don't happen in quick succession on Malaita. And why is someone trying to kill Sister Conchita?

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pleasant enough crime fiction set on the Solomon Islands, which I give 3.5 stars. The strong point of the book is how it roots the story in the culture and traditions of the Solomon Islands (though, not being from the area, I cannot judge to what extent it is honestly representative of Solomon culture). This makes for an original book, including in how the plot is devised. But the characters felt a bit flat and, in the first part of the book, the story drags on a bit as the mystery takes a backseat to descriptions of Solomon culture. As a result, I never really got sucked into the story and didn't really care about the plot outcome.

[Sara Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of the 2022 Read Around The World. I think the Solomon Islands was the April country. I really enjoyed this mystery, the first book in the Kella and Conchita Mysteries, and hope to be able to find more.

An indigenous islander, Sergeant Ben Kella is not only in the SI police force, but he’s also an aofia, a hereditary spiritual peacekeeper of the Lau people. Learning about this group of people and their beliefs and customs was fascinating while watching Kella and Sister Conchita untangle the web connecting crimes past and present. For me, this was a great way to immerse myself in the culture. I highly recommend this novel!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 2011 novel is set in the Solomon Islands in 1960 and the locale and the snippets of life and customs across the region work better than the intricate web of murders needing to be uncovered by Sergeant Kella, the leading indigenous police officer caught between the traditional and white worlds. A sister at the Catholic mission on his home island of Malaita is integral to the plot which concerns some killings, missing whites, old magic-men and smuggling. A smooth enough read, intriguing in places if a bit too bland at times

[Libby McLellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

. I knew absolutely nothing about the Solomon Islands and it’s history. After finishing this book I want to learn more. I found the description of the customs and beliefs of the islands interesting. Ben Kella is a super hero of the islands. His interaction with Sister Conchita verges on comical. If a reader wants a story part historical, part mystery, part psychological, part sociological, and part comical they should read this book.

[Nancy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent mystery set in the Solomon Islands. It reminds me a great deal of the Arthur Upfield series, though that one is set in Australia. This one features a local policeman who is also part of the indigenous culture, an asset that helps him solve the murder and figure out exactly what is happening. In an unlikely pairing, he gets help from a nun who is serving at a local mission. This is an intriguing series, and I hope there will be a lot more of them.

[Barbara Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of a series of detective stories starring Sergeant Ben Kella, a native of the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands, and Sister Conchita, an American nun. This one is set in 1960, as the Solomon Islands prepare for independence. Ben moves between the old ("custom") way and the new, and Conchita learns that she needs to understand the islanders' traditions in order to be effective in her mission. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

[BJ McSt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were vivid and unique. The people of the Solomon Islands and their customs and beliefs are wonderfully drawn. The story is complex but unfolds intriguingly and at a good pace, with a satisfying ending. There are two more books in the series and I am looking forward to reading them soon and learning more about SGT Kella and Sister Conchita.