On a Friday, ten people meet on Castaway Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Each has received either an invitation or an employment opportunity tailored to their needs or hobbies. Amongst them are a judge, a former cop, a teacher, a doctor, a writer… Little do they know that what awaits them over the weekend on this private island is very far from what they’ve been told to expect and that one of them is on a mission to make the others pay for various people’s deaths.

This sapphic retelling of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is Alicia Gael’s debut novel, and what a debut it is! I loved the writing from the start, the way the author sets the mood immediately. She also makes the different points of view work seamlessly, avoiding any sensation of head hopping, which, considering how many characters are involved, is quite a feat.

As a reader, it’s hard to get attached to characters when there’s a promise of certain death for some and you don’t know which ones. Even if the author seems to favour one or two, giving them slightly more time on the page at the beginning, can you trust her not to kill them? I’m a very character-driven reader and it could have interfered with my enjoyment, yet I found myself relishing the thrill of not knowing, the anticipation of potential heartbreak.

The only issue I have with this story is that had I been one of the people who got lured to Castaway Island, I’d have Googled the hell out of the person who invited me or offered me employment before I went. Some suspension of disbelief is needed here, which is made very easy by how riveting everything else is. I didn’t count how many times I had to remind myself to breathe. I was on the edge of my seat almost from page one and only sat back comfortably after I’d read the last sentence. What a ride! 4.5⭐️

Read Murder on Castaway Island:

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