Deadman’s Pool (Book 8 #IslesOfScillyMysteries) by Kate Rhodes @OrendaBooks #DeadmansPool @K_RhodesWriter @RandomTTours

The breathtaking, gripping new instalment in the Isles of Scilly Mysteries series…

NEW SIGNING for Orenda Books! Kate Rhodes’ award-winning, atmospheric Isles of Scilly series returns in a new home!

DI BEN KITTO RETURNS…

When Ben Kitto discovers the body of a young woman, buried near the ruins of an old isolation hospital on the island of St Helen’s, he is convinced the killer is hiding in plain sight … and determined to take more lives.

Book blurb

A SACRED ISLAND

Winter storms lash the Isles of Scilly, when DI Ben Kitto ferries the islands’ priest to St Helen’s. Father Michael intends to live as a pilgrim in the ruins of an ancient church on the uninhabited island, but an ugly secret is buried among the rocks. Digging frantically in the sand, Ben’s dog, Shadow, unearths the emaciated remains of a young woman.

A SHOCKING MURDER

The discovery chills Ben to the core. The victim is Vietnamese, with no clear link to the community – and her killer has made sure that no one will find her easily.

A KILLER ON THE LOOSE

The storm intensifies as the investigation gathers pace. Soon Scilly is cut off by bad weather, with no help available from the mainland. Ben is certain the killer is hiding in plain sight. He knows they are waiting to kill again – and at unimaginable cost.

‘No one produces more elegantly written work than Rhodes (who is also a poet)’
Barry Forshaw in the Financial Times

My thoughts

Ah, how wonderful to be back on the Isles of Scilly with Ben, Shadow and the wonderful cast of Deadman’s Pool the eighth instalment of this extraordinarily good series.

It’s winter and the author has created a new story set on the Isles of Scilly using her extremely impressive writing skills that make you feel like you are riding every wave, feeling every gust of wind, every drop of rain as you’re transported back across the sea into the world of D I Ben Kitto. It’s a dark yet beautiful world where you can smile at the heartwarming moments that have been so wonderfully interwoven into the mystery surrounding that of a teenager’s body found by Kitto’s faithful companion Shadow on St Helen’s where he was transporting Father Michael to his pilgrimage.

Now a father Ben takes this grisly find to heart and pours every ounce of energy into the investigation. It soon becomes apparent that the teenager is related to someone else on the Isles and that takes the investigation to an incident years before involving Ben’s boss and possible child trafficking.

Ben puts his heart and soul into the investigation which means that a discussion about the future is being put off. He knows that can’t continue but for now he’s just too busy and too focused.

Throughout the book is a haunting, melancholic voice of a girl in a heartbreaking and disturbing situation. Is it the past speaking or is this happening now?

There are teenagers who are fascinated with St Helen’s and its history. Rumours are spreading about several adults being involved in terrible things. Yet these inquisitive individuals may have information about what is happening Ben has to filter out what it myth and what is the truth.

The investigation brings several suspects to light. Ben is looking for that particular clue, that piece of information or evidence that will tell him who the killer is when something else happens, something more personal and terrifying than he could ever imagine!

Deadman’s Pool is absolutely fantastic – the setting, the atmosphere, the characters are beautifully crafted alongside a storyline that is so compelling, absolutely riveting. What a story Kate Rhodes has written!

This series simply gets better with each new book and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Thanks

Huge thanks to Anne Cater at RandomThingsTours for the invite to the BlogTour of Deadman’s Pool by Kate Rhodes. It’s an immense privilege to be a part of this event and to receive an eARC from Orenda Books for review, I loved being able to read the latest in this series before it’s published and I’m able to buy the paperback edition for my collection of Kate Rhodes books, thank you so much.

BlogTour

You’ll find lots of great blog posts on this amazing BlogTour so why not take a look?

Information

Published: Orenda Books Ltd | 25/09/2025 | 300 pp |

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 191678866 | ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1916788664

Author

Kate Rhodes is an acclaimed crime novelist and an award-winning poet, selected by Val McDermid’s New Blood panel at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival for her debut, Crossbones Yard. She has been nominated twice for the prestigious CWA Dagger in the Library award, and is one of the founders of the Killer Women writing group. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, the writer and film-maker Dave Pescod, and visited the Scilly Isles every year as a child, which gave her the idea for the critically acclaimed Isles of Scilly Mysteries series.

Follow Kate on: X @K_RhodesWriter| Instagram @katerhodes-writer | facebook.com/katerhodesauthor | her website: katerhodesbooks.co.uk/

Books

Isles of Scilly Mysteries

Alice Quentin series

Standalone & Poetry

The Stalker

Reversal | The Alice Trap

Out now!