S.V. Leonard – The Islanders

‘The Islanders’ by S.V. Leonard is a crime thriller that drew me in immediately from the cover and synopsis. I knew I needed to read this book. A story that gives us a reality television premise with a terrible twist in the tale.

We meet Kimberley King, a woman who has been spending her life trying to get away from the reason she left the police force. She is selected to take part in a reality T.V show Love Wrecked and the prize is enough for her to say yes. All she needs to do is couple up with another contestant and win the infamous Love Wrecked challenges that they have and she can pocket enough cash to begin again. When they all arrive on the Island nothing goes to plan and within the first few hours, one contestant is dead. Then an announcement is made that one of the contestants is the murderer. Kimberley finds herself in a cat and mouse game attempting to discover who the murderer is. Every hour she takes one more person will die. Will Kimberley be able to win this horrific game before anyone else dies?

A book that had my heart in my throat and my adrenaline racing. It definitely gave me a Love Island feel, well until the killing begins anyway. The author has taken that Love Island premise and ran with it. We have the sun-soaked exotic location, a group of strangers chosen at random and then, the greed. In this story, the author goes further and shows us the depth of the emotions and greed that come with a story like this. I was really invested in this book.

The characters, including Kimberley, are not perfect or even likeable at times but I liked how real they were. I so enjoyed the images that the author conjured in my head of the Island, somewhere in Greece. I could almost feel the sun beating on my skin and the sea lapping over my toes.

This book is one heck of an addictive, compelling and intriguing read, it definitely lived up to the cover and the synopsis anyway!

Thanks to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours, Canelo and NetGalley for the copy of the book for this review today.