Talking Location With … Stephanie Dray / Laura Kamoie: WASHINGTON DC
Thriller set on a private CARIBBEAN ISLAND
14th May 2026
The Pledge by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, thriller set on a private Caribbean island.
#destinationthriller
Thea Harringont, KC, has just won an incredibly important case. But she is on the wrong side of the climate debate, her details have been doxxed and demonstrators are out to get her. Fortunately, she has received a cryptic invitation, with clues to be solved and, as she is a sucker for a mystery, she is determined to understand the riddles. She deciphers the message and understands she will be travelling somewhere rather glam in the Caribbean. This gives her the perfect opportunity to escape the glare of bad publicity. The invitation proves to be from Olga Helgedotter, – “untouchable, rules-don’t-apply levels of power” – and vast, eye-watering wealth.
Thea’s feet have barely touched the ground and she is on the private jet, surprised to encounter her husband, Charles Harrington, the UK Energy Minister. They are in a sparring phase of their relationship and unbeknownst to him, she is moving to end their marriage.
The plane lands in Bridgetown, Barbados and thence it is on to fictional St Innocent, where golden sands and verdant palm trees [are] bright against the azure ocean. Soon, Hugh, a chum of Charles, horribly humiliates a female member of staff and everyone just gawps until someone thinks to step in. It was a gross event, but, I suppose, necessary to underline just how awful these people can be. At this point, however, I wavered whether to give up reading, as the trajectory seemed to be settling in for ultra luxe living with a cast of ghastly, entitled and depraved people. No expense is spared, the food is garnished in gold flakes, the champagne is Cristal and Bollinger, and sneakily placed expensive presents seem to hint at what is to come. Olga presents herself with a large black cat, with a diamond-studded necklace, very Blofeld.
Soon, it is revealed why these illustrious people have been hand-picked to attend this “summit” – the project is presented and the pitfalls are only too obvious. The guests have the night to ponder the sign-or-decline option, but, it seems, wily old Olga has engineered a valid blackmail threat to persuade them all to agree to her plan.
So, there they are, locked on an island, the staff members have all been despatched on the yacht to prevent any leaks to the outside world (or, seen another way, it’s a helpful authorial device to ensure the guests have no outside contact) and, at Olga’s request, they meekly allow their phones to be confiscated. The scene is set for a locked island thriller. By this point I felt that the means of getting the characters onto the island, stripped of outside help, just felt too contrived and staged.
After a fitful night of broken sleep, a body is discovered.
This is well written novel and there is clearly an intelligent mind behind the story’s trajectory. The pace is good, the assembled members of high society are well versed in diabolical machinations, but overall it’s just daft. I wasn’t invested in any of the characters and because it felt so absurd at points, I just wasn’t that interested in discovering the mercurial dynamics and motives that eventually lead to murder.
The sense of place – a beautiful fictional island in the Caribbean – is fairly strong.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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