Five thrillers set on islands curated by author Liz Webb

2nd August 2024

Five Thriller set on islands,  curated by Liz Webb, author of The Saved set on island of the West Coast of Scotland

My new book THE SAVED is set on a mysterious isolated slate island off the west coast of Scotland, where a strange church holds sway over the islanders. Soon after London couple Nancy and Calder arrive on the island, Calder is found floating in the freezing sea, clinically dead for six hours. When he is miraculously brought back to life, everyone thinks he’s fully recovered, but Nancy doesn’t recognise him at all. And the bizarre church seems especially fascinated by his survival.

Here are five other thrillers set on islands:

The Island by Adrian McKinty (Australia/Outback)

 I was keen to read another McKinty novel after the brilliance of The Chain. And this doesn’t disappoint. It’s fast paced with a great cast of characters and a fascinating setting. Heather and Tom take their kids to a remote Australian Island, off-limits to outside visitors and run by close-knit locals. Then the family get separated.

They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall (Mexico)

With a nod to Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’, this is a tense compulsive read. Miriam Macy travels to a luxurious private island off the coast of Mexico with six other strangers. But all seven strangers have a secret and they gradually realise they’ve been brought there for a reckoning.

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson (Elliðaey)

I love the highly-evocative freezing setting of this island mystery. Four friends visit the isolated Icelandic Island of Elliðaey. But only three return. Very likeable Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir must work out who is telling the truth and what secrets the island is hiding?

The Guest List by Lucy Foley – (Ireland)

o An old-school page-turning whodunnit, in which everyone looks guilty. Guests congregate on a remote atmospheric Irish island for a wedding. Celebrations start getting out of hand, and soon after the service, someone dies. But before anyone can leave, a storm descends and everyone is trapped with the killer.

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton (Northern Iceland)

And finally, what added ingredient could further hype up an isolated island mystery – of course, the rest of the world has been destroyed! This dystopian novel has a unique narrator and a plot that keeps you guessing. The island is idyllic, but nothing exists beyond it after the world was destroyed by a deadly fog. When a lead scientist is killed, the security of the island is weakened and if the murder isn’t solved in 92 hours, the fog will overtake them all.

The Saved is published in paperback on 22nd August 2024

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Catch the author on Twitter X @LizWebbAuthor and connect via her website

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