We Search the Island for Grace: A beautifully written classic gothic crime novel of family, secrets and loss

by Bonnie Burke-Patel

They gather at Saints' Climb, the only house on an island off the Somerset coast. Eight men with nowhere else to be at Christmas. Father and son George and Xavier Starvely; James, a taciturn archaeologist uneasy with the living; Victor, a French widower; Rick, the groundskeeper; and Chris and Nathan, the two men who want to make a documentary about this place and its extraordinary collection of medieval art. And the housekeeper Marianne, who seems to find peace in serving. Erected around the stone labyrinth built into the floor by monks, Saints' Climb is a house heavy with loneliness.

Xavier Starvely is a successful academic with a real life elsewhere. Yet he is wracked with guilt over the fragmentary memories of a childhood tragedy, and when his guests arrive on the island for Christmas, the deaths begin afresh.

A labyrinth is different from a maze. There are no false turns or dead there is only one winding path, which, followed faithfully, will always lead to the centre. What will each find at the centre of the labyrinth? And can it save them?

Kindle Edition

Expected publication July 30, 2026

About the author

Born and raised in South Gloucestershire, Bonnie Burke-Patel studied History at Oxford. After working for half a decade in politics and policy, she changed careers and became a preschool teacher, before beginning to write full time. She lives with her husband, son, and needy cat in south east London, and is working on her next crime novel about fairy tales, desire, and the seaside.

Reviews

[Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arc Review: We Search The Island For Grace by @bonnieburkepatel

We Search the Island for Grace is a beautifully atmospheric gothic mystery that blends suspense, grief, and family secrets into a haunting and deeply satisfying novel. Set on a remote island off the Somerset coast, the story gathers a small group of men at the isolated house of Saints’ Climb, where old memories, guilt, and hidden truths slowly surface as the past refuses to stay buried.

Bonnie Burke-Patel has created yet another delicious gothic novel that intertwines beautiful prose, deep research and medieval historical art, all while there is a murder plot and slow burn eerie tension that kept me immersed from the moment I began to read. Bonnie has a relentless talent to carry each of her characters with emotional weight in secrets and has you deciphering their connection in the woven tale, piece-by-piece. I became so invested in each of their tales, and couldn’t- or wouldn’t put this book down until it was done.

The plot unfolds like the labyrinth at the centre of the house: there are no wasted turns, only a steady path toward the truth. As the story moves toward its conclusion, the sense of inevitability makes the final revelations feel both shocking and perfectly earned. I loved the metaphor of it all, and it really did blow me away…my mind was going round in circles. What a novel this is!

If you enjoy classic gothic crime, with gripping eerie atmospheres, this novel is for you. It’s haunting, mysterious, and powerful. My favourite book yet 😌

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Thank you to Bonnie for giving me a Digital Arc of this for a completely honest review. You never disappoint- you just keep blowing me away!!! I ♥️ your work now and forever 😭

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[Sara Phillips]

I’m a self-confessed, original superfan of Bonnie’s writing, so when she announced a new thriller — and that my name was on one of the proofs — I already knew I was in for something special… and she’s absolutely delivered again.

My Bookish Thoughts 💬
Well… Bonnie’s pulled off a hat-trick. I genuinely couldn’t have loved this book more.

I’m a huge fan of locked-room mysteries, especially when they’re set in grand, gothic houses. Give me a property surrounded by the sea and I’m completely hooked.

I loved everything about this book. The premise — being stranded on Saint’s Climb Island off the Somerset coast during a raging Christmas storm, with secrets lurking behind why each guest has agreed to come… and then a murder — is just delicious.

As with her previous books, Bonnie is incredibly adept at painting scenes and atmosphere, drawing you in immediately. Her complex, flawed characters are relatable and compelling, each hiding secrets you’re desperate to uncover.

The tension builds beautifully, and the mystery kept me guessing right until the final pages — I was doubting my theories time and time again.

Bonnie’s ability to research fascinating subjects — this time labyrinths and medieval art — and weave them into an ever-building, tense plot is an absolute delight. I also loved the subtle nods to And Then There Were None, which made it even more fun trying to piece everything together.

An utterly gripping, atmospheric mystery that kept me guessing until the very last page.

✨ Three words: Atmospheric 🌫️Twisty 🔀 Addictive 📖

✨ This book was kindly gifted by Bonnie Burke Patel and the publisher Bedford Square Publishers, thank you so much for this beautiful proof copy. I also received a digital ARC via NetGalley. This is my honest, voluntary review.

[Eckhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I do not doubt that I have very grave sins. But to be a sinner? Is that what man is with the whole of his being? I had rather hoped for something closer to love."

Saint's Climb, the isolated island estate, keeps its secrets underneath the storm's embrace, and it watches with its single rose window eye upon the poor sinners whose lives are about to change forever.

We Search the Island for Grace flippantly teases what it could have been, but Dracula holds no power over the island, nor will Poirot appear to tie loose ends into a fine bow. This story is most decidedly a well-paced Gothic murder mystery, but the author wants to show you a believable drowning. Rotting reeds, grief, and the tranquility of water. It was a human, and they mattered.

Nevertheless, the story will circumvent your expectations and deliver a heart-wrenching tale about how family, loss and isolation shapes us, and it does so through an intriguing cast of flawed and likable characters oozing humanity and sprouting sharp dialogue.

Bonnie Burke-Patel applies her effortless layering of threads that achieves a book worth more than the sum of its parts. A tense mystery to unravel, yes, but also a lesson to carry with you. She bestows grace upon you so that you may pass it on to others.

It may end in tragedy, but as dawn approaches, hope will offer reprieve.

[Kayte Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

It can be both. We can be both. So much of life is nuance. We all contain multitudes. This is the lesson at the centre of the labyrinth.

Bonnie Burke- Patel has without question done it again. Think Knives Out, think Clue but make it gothic crime novel. If you have ever had the inclination fireside or in bed at night just before sleep takes you to say to someone "please, tell me story ..." That is the feeling her writing always evokes in me. Please, tell me a story. It is a little mystery, a little modern fairy tale, and a little metaphor underneath it all. I genuinely believe I could restart it again just now and take even more away from it.

I am beyond honored to have had the chance to savor an ARC of this book and I cannot wait for others to get a chance to read it. I simply will never tire of Burke-Patel's work. Came for the story , but walked away learning a little more about myself; and with pieces of my world view broadened and reaffirmed.

I hope everyone who reads it finds a bit of grace within its pages - and bestows it upon others and perhaps even more importantly upon themselves.

[Beachcomber · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars rounded up. Lyrically written, gothic in style, one for Agatha Christie fans, especially of And Then There Were None. Too often, we find books are too long and could have been pruned down? Well this felt like a full size book in only 193 pages… which shows how well Burke-Patel managed to convey scene, character and plot without any padding. It was very atmospheric, and with a good mystery plot - I only really marked it down as the ending was a little ambiguous for me.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.