SOLVING MYSTERIES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

Hacked ★★★★ Fiona Snyckers, Indie Publishers, Available on Amazon, R40

This fun and fast-paced read is the start of the six-book Eulalie Park murdermystery series, which includes a hint of romance. Private investigator Eulalie Park is used to working alone. But the new chief of police, Donal Macgregor, is not easy to ignore, especially after he accuses Park’s best friend of murder. As Park sets off on her cherry-red Vespa to prove her friend’s innocence, sparks ignite between the detective and the chief.

“Chief Macgregor is a series regular,” says Snyckers. “I like to think he would be played by fellow Scot James McAvoy if this series made it to the big screen.”

Hacked is set on the fictitious Prince William Island, near Madagascar. “I’m fascinated by the way in which parts of the world were carved up on paper by Europeans sitting at a conference table thousands of miles away,” says Snyckers. “I wanted Prince William Island to be a real melting-pot of cultures, with a strong Francophone influence.”

The novel’s pacing is smooth, keeps readers guessing, and the narrative avoids deus ex machina to resolve the case. “It is very important that readers should feel satisfied after reading a murder mystery,” Snyckers says. “You don’t want your readers actually to solve the mystery themselves, but you want them to look back on the build-up of evidence in the book and to feel as though they could have solved it if only they had been a little more alert.” Snyckers’s long-time fans expect stories that feature strong and intriguing female characters. Park is no exception — a heroine with larger-than-life abilities, she’ll be admired by readers young and old.