Title: Missing Barbados

Author: Willem Pain

Category: Mystery

Published: March 13, 2013 by the author

Rating: 2½ out of 5 stars

Add: Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository

A teenage member of the royal family is kidnapped while on holiday in Barbados putting Susan Berg, the shoot-first owner of the Caribbean Detective Corporation, on the case along with her hard charging associate, Dutch Holland.  Together they destroy half of the Monarchy and most of Barbados as they aim their spotlight on the darkest secrets and most notorious of villains on the island.

 

I don’t think Barbados will miss Susan and Dutch when they leave. The mystery is interesting enough, I guess, but all the destruction and shooting and ruining your “friends'” belongings got a little monotonous.

Setting: Barbados seem like a perfect vacation destination. Tropical and, to quote the book, “a refined and well-run island. Dressing for dinner, tea time, low crime and very stable.” Sandy beaches a warm ocean, good food. Sign me up, but not for any hotel where Susan or Dutch are staying.

Characters: Susan inherited the Caribbean Detective Corporation from her father. She’s comfortable with a gun and with telling a fib now and again, essential in her business. We’re told she’s a good detective and cold as ice, but I never felt like she was more than second fiddle to her employee, Dutch. He’s older, more prone to trouble and to while not necessarily loosing his heart to a pretty woman, at least feeling the need to be a knight in shining armor.  I don’t know, I didn’t believe in either of them really, both were just too much, if that makes sense.

Plot: A girl is kidnapped, or maybe went willingly, either way rich Daddy wants her back. The reader knows where she is and what’s happening to her, although Susan and Dutch don’t. And then they’re a side mystery with an old sword, but of course it’s all connected. And yes, people get killed, there are drugs involved somehow, I forget how. Like I mentioned there’s a lot of damage – boats, buses, a helicopter, a house that went up in flames. Dutch and Susan are like a walking disaster area, and yet it was not a compulsive read. It does all get tied up in the end, but it’s a bit of a puzzle getting there.

Recommendation: I didn’t find this one worth my time, although there were a couple of funny spots.

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