The Poisoned Island: A Novel
When the British ship Solander returns to London from Tahiti in 1812, it carries a deadly secret as well as its cargo of tropical plants and botanical specimens. Within days, six of the ship’s crew have been murdered, their rooms and sea chests ransacked but their wages left untouched. Intuitive Constable Charles Horton of the River Police, who finds three of the victims soon after their deaths, is puzzled by smiles on some of their faces as he searches for connections and motive. Meanwhile, Horton’s boss, magistrate John Harriott, must play political games with prominent naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, who financed the Solander expedition for reasons of his own. While Shepherd artfully blends history and fiction, as he did in his highly praised first novel, The English Monster (2012), the supernatural is less a factor here, and frequent allusions to the crimes in the earlier book do more to impede than advance the plot. Still, the Tahitian locales and the keen detecting of Horton, a character to watch, are likely to capture interest. --Michele Leber