Holy Island
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
by L.J.Ross
SYNOPSIS
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby Priory.
When former local girl Dr Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface making her confront her difficult past. She and Ryan struggle to work together to hunt a killer who hides in plain sight, while pagan ritual and small-town politics muddy the waters of their investigation.
Murder and mystery are peppered with a sprinkling of romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set on the spectacular Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne, cut off from the English mainland by a tidal causeway.
REVIEW
I have been waiting for such a long time to get started with the The DCI Ryan Mysteries series. I've seen the books all over the place and the covers are very striking so I'm always drawn to them with their iconic landmarks. This book (the first in the series) is set on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and sees Detective Chief Inspector Ryan arrive on the island, taking personal leave from the force. However, the discovery of a body amongst the ancient ruins changes his plans and he finds himself working with Dr Anna Taylor, a police consultant with old ties to the island. Ryan and Anna both have baggage but find themselves attracted to each other. They then have to navigate these feelings while at the same time, hunting the killer. I will say that when I read a Police Procedural, this is what I'm interested in. I want to follow an investigation and see how the case is worked. I'm not the kind of reader who needs an additional relationship to follow so I wasn't especially keen on these parts of the story. I have read a lot of crime novels with a focus on the characters private lives, but this is usually background, to give a better understanding of how they work and the decisions they make involving a case. I thought that this went a bit too romance for me personally, but I'm sure that for other people it will be a welcome addition to a crime thriller. What I liked about the story was that the island setting gave the opportunity to do an Agatha Christie style, closed circle of suspects - because the tide cut the island off from the mainland there is only a certain number of people who could have been involved. I also enjoyed the folklore elements and bringing in Anna as a specialist in ancient practices and beliefs - I'm a big fan of rituals and symbolism being linked to murder investigations. Having said that I wasn't keen on the relationship aspect of the storyline, I did enjoy the investigation, and knowing that there are another twenty-something books in the series, I would be really interested to read another and see how the series develops.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, best known for creating atmospheric mystery and thriller novels, including the DCI Ryan series of Northumbrian murder mysteries which have sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
Her debut, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and reached number one in the Amazon UK and Australian charts. Since then, she has released more than thirty further novels, all of which have been top three global bestsellers and most of which have been UK #1 bestsellers. Louise has garnered an army of loyal readers through her storytelling and, thanks to them, most of her books reached the coveted #1 spot whilst only available to pre-order ahead of release. Her eleventh novel, "The Infirmary", is a prequel story and is also available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong.
Her first hardback edition "Berwick" (DCI Ryan #24) was released by Cornerstone in February 2026 and was an instant Sunday Times Bestseller.
In addition to her DCI Ryan series, Louise has created a new series of thriller novels based around the central character of ‘Dr Alexander Gregory’, whose work as a psychological profiler takes him around the world.
"The Cove" (the first book in her new Summer Suspense Mysteries series) was released in 2021 and followed up by "The Creek" in 2022, "The Bay" in 2023, and "The Haven" in 2024. This is a new series of standalone romantic suspense novels featuring strong female protagonists. "The Lizard" will follow in summer 2026.
The novels all are available to purchase in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats on the Amazon store, as well as in libraries and book shops around the world.
Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full-time and lives with her family Northumberland, where she enjoys reading all manner of books, travelling and spending time with family and friends.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, @lj_rossauthor and Penguin Books - @PenguinUKBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Police Procedural / Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Penguin UK Books
ISBN: 978-1804960158
Pages: 496pp
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