This turned out to be an okay book. For maybe the first third, first 80 pages, it was a full-on 1-star. I found it tough sledding. I didn't care for the story nor the characters. But I did fully enjoy the geography lesson(s).

I mean, the Solomon Islands are literally in the middle of nowhere, no man's land in the middle no mans land. There are "millions" of islands in the topical Pacific, but getting to the Solomons is major work for 99.99% of the population of the planet so few people actually make it there. Point being, my knowledge of the archipelago was somewhere between little and none; Guadalcanal, sure, wait... you mean there are more islands?

Reading about the islands – and cultures – and doing periodic Google lookups, I found rewarding. I did find Sergeant Kella's travels and traverses a bit confusing as he bopped from village to village, island to island, but I managed to track it well enough.

Anyway, I didn't really like the main characters Ben Kella and Sister Conchita. For me, as I mentioned above, things only really got interesting when we met Wainoni, The Gammon Man; his shtick was hysterical (I won’t give it away). Alright, I’m beginning to warm up to this story, I'm willing to go 1-1/2 to 2-stars. Then another third of the book, at 160 pages or so, we meet Giosa, The Tree Shouter, another brilliant add to make up what had been more of a lackluster cast of characters.

By the end I was good with 3-stars, maybe it is better but I wasn't pulled along; it's kind of weird as a mystery or crime fiction goes. Kella also emerged as a more interesting character as various parts of his history was mixed in. The cultural and historical aspects of the Solomon Islands was fascinating as well as how a literal speck in the middle of the ocean can be of such historical and geopolitical importance... whether the native Melanesians care to be or not. Also, the time period 1960, post-World War II and pre-Independence seem to be well represented and / or conveyed; a different time and place. I will definitely pick up the other books in the series if I happen to run across. ( )

Graeme Kent's Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita historical mystery series is perfect for the armchair traveler, and it's so good that I'd almost give my right arm to have more than three books in the series. The first book, Devil-Devil, was a Best Read of 2011, the second, One Blood, was a Best Read of 2012, and Killman came very close to being a Best Read this year. I am so glad I found it while doing some research.

I am of an age where I remember Japanese soldiers being found in the jungle in areas like the Solomon Islands, either not knowing or refusing to believe that World War II was over twenty and thirty years after the fact. Since Killman is set in the Solomons in 1960, this is a perfect thing to incorporate in a mystery involving mysterious deaths.

Another strong element in the mystery is that of religion. Christianity (and not just Catholicism) has a strong hold in the Solomon Islands, but there are still many who hold on to their pagan beliefs with their strong attachments to the natural world. What Kent brought to life for me was the very real danger of a type of religious war involving the differing beliefs of Christians and of those peoples living in saltwater villages as opposed to those living in the bush (jungle).

The various religions aren't the only things that Kent brings to life. The Solomon Islands themselves play a major role. I can feel myself walking along a beach and breathing in the sea air... or being covered in sweat and slapping mosquitoes as I travel through the jungle and up into the mountains. There are political aspects to life in the islands. The Japanese are showing interest in the natural resources to be found there, and the Americans are showing interest in the Japanese. It's a land still struggling through the aftermath of World War II. Of all the equipment left behind by both the Japanese and the Americans. Of all the wreckage littering land and sea from the battles for Guadalcanal and the other islands.

Kent does such a marvelous job of putting readers in the midst of life in the Solomons. Of the tremendous navigational skills of the Polynesians. Of the eighty different dialects spoken there. Of the towering banyan trees, symbols of eternal life. And of island occupations such as that of tree shouter. It is such a rich culture! One of the characters is an academic gathering island songs for a book she's writing. Kent uses her as an example of the danger academics can face in traveling to remote areas on fact-finding missions. (Whom do you trust to tell you the truth?)

The major thing that makes learning about the area so enjoyable is the pair of Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita. A young Catholic nun from Boston, Sister Conchita chose her name because she thought she was going to be posted to South America, and she wanted a name that the people would find familiar. She thought wrong, but she has adapted to life in the South Pacific beautifully and has become the mainstay of the mission. She also has a flair for deduction which Sergeant Ben Kella reluctantly admits is useful. As Sister Conchita shows us life from an outsider's point of view, Kella has the insider's side of the story, and it's the blending of the two that makes this series so special.

I could wax poetic about this book... the entire series... for page after page, but I won't. This is a series that I hope all of you will give a try, especially if books with a strong sense of place are your favorites. Give island life a try. You can't have two better guides than Sister Conchita and Sergeant Ben Kella. ( )

This is one of my favourite series. It is set on the Solomon Islands in the 1960s and Kent presents the exotic location and the part pagan, part Christian characters irresistibly. Like Sergeant Kella and many of the inhabitants, Sister Conchita is able to intertwine the culture and traditions of both groups and make them work. As well as police sergeant, Kella is the aofia, a position of spiritual peacekeeper respected by everyone. Serious yet lighthearted enough to be fun, this is a wonderful series.

In this novel there is deep unrest after three deaths occur. Is it possible that a Japanese soldier stranded on the island has committed the crimes, not knowing that the war is over. Learning about the people and history of the area, which was important in South Pacific WWII strategy, is one of the main attractions of Kent's books.

[[Graeme Kent]] ran BBC Schools broadcasting service in the Solomons for eight years and is still involved with the educational system in the South Pacific Commission. ( )