The set-up was reminiscent of Agatha Christie's classic "And Then There Were None" and was a major draw for my request. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the third (and last?) book in a story arc for PI Kate Weller in the Marked for Retribution Mysteries. Even though I haven't read the two preceding books, it wasn't difficult to pick up the thread here. I must admit that I thought that the premise was somewhat strained--wouldn't a good PI firm do at least a cursory background check on a mysterious client who wants them to come to his private island? This was okay, but not something I'm likely to re-read or look for other books in the series.

4 stars

This book has a great and original story idea. Nate Price has received an invitation to an all expenses paid trip to a remote island owned by Julian Frazier, a very wealthy man. The invitation includes all of his employees. Sounds great! Right?

Kate Weller and her boyfriend Eric cannot attend at the time stated, but plan on joining the group the next day.

The only catch is that Frazier has constructed his own murder mystery and it's up to Nate and his team to solve the crime. The problems arise almost immediately for the murder was real and happened eight years earlier. The other important clue is that the dead woman was Frazier's wife.

Frazier has brought to his island an assortment of suspects. They all had something to do with the murder in one way or another. One was the public defender who represented the accused, one the prosecutor who had to drop the case, a muck raking newspaper man and others.

The phones are cut, all means of communications have been taken from the unhappy detective team, and Frazier is very volatile in temperment.

Then people start dying...Can Kate and Eric save the day? Will they ever get to the island?

Frantically trying to solve the case and with Frazier's “punishments” getting more erratic and harsh, the team is resenting very much what is going on. They have four “guards” watching their every move and more than willing to attack them at the slightest provocation.

This is a well written book. It held my interest for I thought it was such a great story idea. The book reads quickly with very few typos or errors. However, I must admit that with the exception of Kate and Eric, I did not care that much for the other main characters. Beth was a drama queen and she irritated me the most. The others were too quick to anger and I thought if they had been a little calmer and more rational, they might have achieved more. I had my main suspect chosen early on and I was proved right, so it wasn't much of a story twist for me. Well done, Ms. Ellis.

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House/Severn House Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.