Review: The Island Paul Finch

     

Print Length: 343 pages

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (September 1, 2025)

From Goodreads.com:  A dream holiday. You’d die to be there.

You are offered the getaway of a lifetime on a remote island with a group of strangers. Things have been difficult recently, so you jump at the chance to swim under the summer sun, explore the peaceful woodlands and return to an elegant hotel for a glorious dinner.

As the boat pulls into the harbour, you’re surrounded by crystal-clear water and soon you are alone. Just the peace and quiet you were promised. No phone signal, no internet… no way to call for help. But nothing will go wrong in paradise, right?

As a huge summer storm rolls towards the island, everyone is starting to realise the secrets they’ve been hiding for years seem to have followed them here. And you are no different.

Then one of your group disappears. His body washes up in the picture-postcard harbour, and it’s clearly no accident. Can you get out alive?

                                                         *******************

My Rating: 1 star out of 5

From the synopsis, this book sounded like it could be right up my alley.  A group of cops (bent or otherwise) lured into a too-good-to-be-true getaway, with the promise of maybe redeeming themselves. Great premise, right? Unfortunately, that promise never delivered.

The characters were both underdeveloped and unlikeable, and there were so many of them that keeping track became a chore. To make matters worse, sometimes they were referred to by their first names, other times by their last, so I was constantly flipping back and forth trying to remember who was who. Although to be honest, the more the story went on, the more  I stopped caring. 

Seriously. It got to the point where I didn’t care who lived, who died, or who just disappeared into the background, and (spoiler alert) that might have been for the best.

The story itself dragged along a boring, predictable path that too often veered into outright implausibility. The only thing that kept me marginally engaged were the murders, were at least mildly interesting (and I use that phrase loosely).

But then came the epilogue, which managed to somehow be even more disappointing than everything that came before it. It was just the final nail in the coffin of a book that could have been so much better.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.