Diver's Paradise

Diver’s Paradise, A Roscoe Conklin Mystery is a very good story. Roscoe, better known to most as R, is a retired detective. He took his savings and most of his retirement money to buy an old resort on Bonair, a Carribean Island originally settled by the Dutch, lying just off the coast of Venezuela. Good weather and great reefs make it an ideal stop for divers. At the start of the story, R learns that his former police chief in Rockford, Illinois, along with the chief’s wife, Bill and Marybeth Ryberg, were shot to death in their home. They were also people who R loved. This occurred simultaneously with another friend from Rockford, Tiffany, who is on her way to the island for her own vacation. Tiffany is a younger woman with a 2-year-old son who was best friends with the Rybergs and R when they all lived in Rockford. Tiffany was on the plane when the murders occurred, so she arrives in Bonair and is unaware of their deaths. At the same time, R has a current love, a local woman from Bonair, Arabella, who is a detective in the police force on Bonair. R, who has a phobia of commitments, is truly smitten by Arabella.

Suddenly, murders start happening on Bonair. Tiffany dies in an apparent drowning while she is on a solo diver. Then, some other locals to whom R has been talking, also end up dead. Bonair is an island where there is almost no crime, until now.

The author takes us through a well-developed mystery. Good characters and a good plot, all the  way to a satisfying ending. He includes various other character and subplots to fill out a good picture of life on the island and the livers of R, Arabella, and the other main characters.

I would be happy to read another Roscoe Conklin mystery.