This writer is from Northern Ireland and this is the first of his novels that I have read. I'm not altogether convinced by this novel but he does write well so I may go on to read some of his other books.
This is the story of what happened on an island in the South Pacific, where a group of cocovores resides. They are a cult looking for eternal life based on their beliefs on the worship of the sun, extended use of heroin and eating only coconuts and bananas. Nearby in German New Guinea Will Prior is asked by the German authorities to help investigate the death of one of the cult members.
Prior and two others go to the remote island of Kabakon and spend a few days interviewing the remaining cult members.
From then on it reads like a gentle whodunnit, and a study on a social experiment which went badly wrong. In the afterword we discover that this is in fact a true story, which McKinty has adapted and retold. I wish I had known that at the begging, it would have made more sense.
Although I enjoyed the style, I didn't fully engage with the story. I thought it was a bit overwrought. But based on the writing I will read more by this author.
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