RogerBW's Blog

2014 historical mystery with fantastic elements. In 1906, former military police Lieutenant William Prior is going native in German New Guinea. Then he's asked to help look into a mysterious death in the local colony of weirdoes…

Of course, August Engelhardt's proto-commune was a real thing. But unlike Stuart Turton's The Devil and the Dark Water, this book is based directly on what's known of it (with an admixture of invention which mostly doesn't contradict the very limited historical record), with most of the characters being real people. That's satisfying in that they act with complexity; but it's also frustrating, because nobody's personal story really goes anywhere. Even Prior ends up by the end much as he was at the beginning.

But take it as a slice of life and it's enjoyable, as the idealism of Engelhardt and his disciples collides with Prior's observation of the harsh reality of living on a malarial island and eating only coconuts. There's fanaticism, certainly, but not always from the expected quarters.

It's certainly a change of pace from McKinty's usual Belfast-set recent-past grimy mysteries; in fact, I think I prefer this style, even if we're still dealing with a damaged protagonist who's nonetheless an amazing detective and irresistible to the opposite sex. As a mystery it's unsatisfying because of an inconclusive ending with rather too much deus ex machina, and similarly as a character study it falls a little flat, but taken as an historical curiosity it's rather more fun.