Published 25th September 2025 by Orenda Books.
From the cover of the book:
DI BEN KITTO RETURNS…A SACRED ISLAND
Winter storms lash the Isles of Scilly, when DI Ben Kitto ferries the islands’ priest to St Helen’s. Father Michael intends to live as a pilgrim in the ruins of an ancient church on the uninhabited island, but an ugly secret is buried among the rocks. Digging frantically in the sand, Ben’s dog, Shadow, unearths the emaciated remains of a young woman.
A SHOCKING MURDER
The discovery chills Ben to the core. The victim is , with no clear link to the community – and her killer has made sure that no one will find her easily.
A KILLER ON THE LOOSE
The storm intensifies as the investigation gathers pace. Soon Scilly is cut off by bad weather, with no help available from the mainland. Ben is certain the killer is hiding in plain sight. He knows they are waiting to kill again – and at unimaginable cost.
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DI Ben Kitto's day takes a shocking turn when he ferries priest, Father Michael, to uninhabited St Helen's for a pilgrimage. As he frets about the priest's chances camping during the winter storms currently lashing the Isles of Scilly, Ben's dog unearths an emaciated corpse on the beach.
Forensic examination shows the body to belong to a young Vietnamese woman, who seems to have no connection to Scilly, but as the murder investigation gets underway Ben begins to suspect that there may actually be a killer living in one of the island communities where he has made his home...
Kate Rhodes is an exciting new signing to Orenda Books, where her Isles of Scilly mysteries, featuring DI Ben Kitto, have found a new home with book eight, Deadman's Pool. I have not read any of the earlier instalments in this series, so embarking on an adventure with Ben Kitto did involve some picking up the threads of a fair bit of backstory, but the mystery itself is largely self-contained so I had no problem reading this as a new-comer.
Flipping back and forth between the narrative of a young Vietnamese woman called Mai, and a murder investigation from Ben's perspective, Rhodes draws you into a mystery that grips you like a vice from the very first page. Mai's account of years of abuse at the hands of an unidentified captor is utterly heartrending, and her fear feeds elegantly into the slow-burn police procedural elements of the search for a murderer driven by Ben's own despair - especially when he realises that the man they are looking for must be hiding in plain sight.
Rhodes really knows how to keep you guessing, lining up a set of highly suspicious candidates for the role of guilty party, and mixing in the whisper of conspiracy to cloud your judgement. As the action gathers in pace, I really did not know who to trust, and the heart-pounding tempo builds relentlessly into the most beautifully choreographed climax that has danger coming much too close to Ben's own family for comfort.
I absolutely loved the way this story is set against the wind and wuthering of storm season, which heightens the tension, and feelings of isolation and desperation. Unpredictable weather, and fragmented communities separated by the capricious sea stand as characters in their own right, creating an atmosphere to quite literally die for. And there are glorious themes for you to get your teeth into around people trafficking, family ties, and the difficulties faced by island communities in terms of economy and environment.
My first Kate Rhodes, but definitely not my last!
Deadman's Pool is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can buy direct from Orenda Books HERE.
Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
She lives in Cambridge with her husband, the writer and film-maker Dave Peascod, and visited the Scilly Isles every year as a child, which gave her the idea for the critically acclaimed Isles of Scilly Mysteries series.
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