I read this book in April, 2024.

"Holy Isle" is the first book in L J Ross's series set in the Holy Isle, Lindisfarne, Northumberland and featuring DCI Ryan. Northumberland is in the extreme north east of England and Holy Isle is off the coast roughy opposite Berwick-on-Tweed, and connected to the mainland by a causeway. The Isle is roughly 3 miles by 1.5 miles. I thought the book was OK for a first effort, but perhaps a bit generic - flawed detective, rescued by a love interest, serial murders - and certainly quite far fetched. Here we have a pagan worshiping secret sect (the Circle), plied with home grown drugs, and controlled by a mad High Priest. Together they make sacrifices to Satan in wierd ceremonies. I'll reserve judgment and probably read book two and see if the series grows on me. There is not much humour, though, and Ryan and his sergeant, DS Frank Phillips, don't really spark off each other. Of late, I have been writing these reviews under three headings - Characters , Personal Lives and Main Plots .

Characters . The police are :
DCI Ryan, full name Maxwell Charles Finley-Ryan, but he prefers just Ryan - an intensely private man, lacking in social graces.
DS Frank Phillips, 15 years older than Ryan, his wife died 5 years ago, and is trying to chat up DI McKenzie.
DI Denise McKenzie, attractive, redhead with a temper.
D. Super Arthur Gregson, head of Northumberland CID, Ryan's boss. Not all he seems to be per the book epilogue.
PC Jack Lowerson, keen rookie, goes into danger without back up, and still in a coma at the end of the book.
Tom Faulkener, senior CSI
Jeff Pointer, senior pathologist.

Other characters, mostly islanders :

Dr Anna Taylor, lecturer at Durham University, expert on Northumberland ancient lore and rites, christian and pagan, etc. She is called in as civilian police consultant and soon becomes Ryan's love interest.
Megan Taylor, has a chip on her shoulder, and is resentful of her sister Anna's success.
Andy and Sara Taylor, both deceased, Anna's and Megan's mum and dad. Andy used to own the local Jolly Anchor pub, but had a drink problem, and was blamed when Sara was found dead at the foot of the stairs. Andy later apparently committed suicide, full of remorse but we later later learn what really happened.
Bill Tilson, former barman, now owner of the The Jolly Anchor - Megan's landlord who lets her live rent free above the pub.
Dr Steve Walker, local medic, married to Yvonne, father of Alex.
Alex Walker, local coastguard, local Cassanova, Alex and Anna were childhood sweethearts, but Alex dumped her for Megan.
Pete Rigby, assistant coastguard, son of Alison Rigby who owns and runs the Lindisfarne Inn. Pete works at The Jolly Anchor.
Rod Fowler, another assistant coastguard, gay.
Mark Bowers, local historian, manages the Hermitage Centre, also an assistant coastguard.
Rev Mike Ingles, local vicar, and his wife Jennifer, has strong traditional beliefs. They have winter heated greenhouse apparently to grow tomatoes.
Lucy Mathieson (21),student at Newcastle Uni, back for the Christmas holidays, first murder victim, daughter of Daniel and Helen.

Private Lives : It's a bit artificial to split out private lives from the main plots, as they are deeply embedded. However, I will mention four private lives themes.
The DCI Ryan back story i.e. the Hacker case trauma.
The Megan and Anna back story
The emerging Anna and Ryan love story
DS Phillips and DI McKenzie romance.

The DCI Ryan back story i.e. the Hacker case trauma : When we first meet DCI Ryan he is apparently on holiday on Lindisfarne and has been there for two months. However, it's not really a holiday, but enforced leave of absence. He has been advised to seek counselling and not to return without a doctor's medically fit certificate. There has been a murder on Lindisfarne, and Ryan persuades his boss D. Super Gregson to let him return early as SIO. He is on the spot, and knows the islanders. Later, at a hostile press conference, journalists question whether he is fit to head a new murder inquiry, and we learn of the Hacker case of six months ago. The Hacker was a doctor at the local A&E who hacked body limbs off his five victims, but used his medical skills to keep them alive. Ryan caught him, but paid a terrible price. The Hacker had tracked Ryan, and Ryan's 5 year younger sister Natalie has been visiting Ryan and was the Hacker's final victim. Unable to save her, Ryan was devastated and all but destroyed. He had tried to throttle the Hacker, but DS Phillips pulled him off. Ryan suffered stress induced anxiety and panic attacks and was on Diazapan. Hence the enforced leave of absence. Initially Ryan persuaded himself that his mum Eve disowned him, blaming him for his sister's death. Later Anna discovers that it was guilt stricken Ryan who pushed his mum away, and she sets up a mum and dad reunion as a Christmas Day gift for Ryan.

The Megan and Anna back story : Appointed civilian consultant to the police, Dr Anna Taylor is back on Lindisfarne for the first time after abruptly leaving eight years ago. What happened ? Apparently Anna and her older spiteful sister Megan had never got on. Megan dreamed of being an actress, but never did anything about it - and 8 years later is still living in the same flat above the Jolly Anchor pub. Anna and handsome Alex Walker had been childhood sweethearts but Megan dedazzled Alex, and stole him from Anna. Megan and Alex became engaged. Megan later told Anna she never cared for Alex, but did it just for spite. Anna left Lindisfarne never to return, until now - and Megan dropped Alex after Anna left. Now, eight years later, Megan is still catty, but Anna tries to rise above it.

The emerging Anna and Ryan love story : D Super Gregson has appointed Dr Anna Taylor as police consultant and sent her back to Lindisfarne. Anna is trying to be friendly with Megan in the The Jully Anchor pub, when Ryan walks in. Megan tries to chat up Ryan, but he only has eyes for Anna. Anna introdues herself as Dr Anna Taylor, your police consultant. As soon as I read of Ryan's explosive reaction - he dismisses Anna saying "Listen sweetheart, I don't want a consultant, but if I did it would be one who is old enough to drive" - I knew Ryan and Anna would end up in bed together. This happens remarkably quickly. Initially Ryan is just being sympathetic, but he forgets himself, and a hug turns into a kiss, and Anna kisses him back. Ryan is full of apologies, says he took advantage of a traumatised young woman, and tells Anna she has every right to make an official police complaint. Anna says "I am not the victim here, I kissed you back !" Later Ryan thinks Anna is in danger, and when she doesn't answer his knocking, he breaks down her door and rushes in to rescue her. She had been in the shower, and is wearing only a towel. This leads to another kiss, and off to the bedroom they go. They have genuinely fallen hopelessly in love with each other. Ryan lost Natalie, but is not going to lose Anna, and effectively puts Anna under police custody / protection. She has been told not to leave his police house unaccompanied. He knows she wants to attend a wake at the Jolly Anchor but says he will be back on Lindisfarne in time to take her there. Events conspire against him, and in spite of a mad car dash, Ryan finds the tide in and the causeway closed. And so we have a thrilling climax with almost naked Anna about to be a sacrificed on an altar, and Ryan rushing to the rescue. Does he make it in time - read the story.

The DS Phillips and DI Denise McKenzie romance : Frank Phillips wife died some 5 years ago, and he has now been trying to chat up DI McKenzie. A highlight for Frank is when he shares a Juliet bathroom with Denise, and wanders in to find her naked after a shower. He is so shocked he is a bit slow in averting his gaze ! I thought the story was unfolding as Phillips being a bit delusional, but apparently not. At the end of the book, he goes to light up a cigarette, but it is snatched out of his mouth by Denise who kisses him on the lips, and asks him when he going to get round to asking her out ? I read that wrongly - but I think I was meant to.

The Main Plots : It's quite a long story full of twists and turns, but I will try to condense it and leave you to read the story for yourself. The story opens with a prologue - young Lucy Mathieson (21) wakes up drugged and naked tied down to a stone altar and outside at the Priory. She can't move and calls for help, a man approaches, says "I am so sorry Lucy " and throttles her to death. She is victim one of at least three in a story involving a secret pagan cult of islanders controlled by a mad "High Priest." Ryan and Phillips are given the case, and it's obviously a ceremonial killing - hence the need for an expert folklore consultant, Dr Anna Taylor. The second victim is Anna's sister Megan who had been prostituting herself with the men on the island and often resorting to blackmail. Her diary is later found, full of clients given coded names. Ken is obviouly local coastguard Cassanova Alex Walker (i.e. Ken of Barbie and Ken), but Megan had also written of a mysterious cult leader "D" with whom sex was initially wonderful and powerful, but eventually "D" was described as a pathetic old man. Alex Walker, the coastguard becomes a suspect - and he can't or won't say where he was at the time of the murders. His worried mother asks Anna to talk to him - and Anna discovers that Alex is bisexual, and has been in a long term relationship with Rod Fowler. Rod is part of the cult, and tells the High Priest ("D" in Megan's diary) that he saw Lucy's killer, and it's not the then arrested Alex Walker. The High Priest says he will take care of it - and so Rod becomes victim three, killed in a funeral pyre. By this time Anna has been accepted as consultant, one of the police, and she and Ryan are puzzled. It's difficultt to find a link between all the murders - surely there can't be more than one murderer in such a small population on Lindisfarne, but yet it's a mixture of christian and pagan ritual, and there are inconsistencies between the murders. In fact there is more than one murderer. Jumping forward, a suspect is arrested and confesses to all three murders, and Gregson orders Ryan back to base and to leave the island - but Ryan says he thinks more people are involved and there is more than one killer. DS Phillips had read a story about paganism, and talked of the four pagan elements - earth, air, fire and water, corresponding to the four cardinal points N, S, E and W. Lucy was killed to the west, Megan to the north, and Rod to the south of the island - so Ryan is convinced there will be fourth murder, to the east where the main feature is the castle. And so a thrilling climax is set up with Ryan commandeering a boat from Budle harbour and fighting a terrible storm to get back the Lindisfarne and try to save Anna.

Of course, there is a lot more to the story than I have mentioned above - e.g. PC Lowerson, investigating heated greenhouses, is bashed on the head with a spade and is in a coma - , but, as always, I written more than I intended to and must leave you to read the book for yourselves.

But let's finish on the surprising epilogue which sets up later books. The cult / Circle is not just a Lindisfarne practice and a new High Priest is appointed. High Priest one had been Anna's father Andy Taylor, Anna's mum was not killed by her dad, but by a later High Priest, and Anna is still in danger as an intended later sacrifice. And so we must read on ......

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