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Table of Contents
About The Book
Shad Myers, the loveable bartender and town sleuth of Largo Bay, hunts down clues to a woman’s mysterious disappearance in this fourth riveting novel in the Shad detective series.
Shannon, a photojournalist on assignment for a Canadian magazine, arrives in the impoverished but beautiful fishing village of Largo Bay, Jamaica. But she’s seeking more than a tropical paradise: She wants to know why a Canadian woman named Katlyn went missing there more than three decades ago.
So she calls on Shad—“bartender by trade, investigator by vocation, and unofficial sheriff of Largo Bay” (Publishers Weekly)—for help. Together, they delve into Rastafarian life and history while preparations are being made for Shad’s wedding and the groundbreaking of his new hotel. But the deeper they get into the story, the deeper they get into trouble. And it’s clear that whoever wanted Katlyn buried all those years ago will do anything to keep the truth buried as well...
As in her previous novels The Sea Grape Tree, The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks, and The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, Gillian Royes transports readers into a beautiful Caribbean setting where life is cheap but religion is strong, and one man is still trying to solve the island’s relentless questions.
Shannon, a photojournalist on assignment for a Canadian magazine, arrives in the impoverished but beautiful fishing village of Largo Bay, Jamaica. But she’s seeking more than a tropical paradise: She wants to know why a Canadian woman named Katlyn went missing there more than three decades ago.
So she calls on Shad—“bartender by trade, investigator by vocation, and unofficial sheriff of Largo Bay” (Publishers Weekly)—for help. Together, they delve into Rastafarian life and history while preparations are being made for Shad’s wedding and the groundbreaking of his new hotel. But the deeper they get into the story, the deeper they get into trouble. And it’s clear that whoever wanted Katlyn buried all those years ago will do anything to keep the truth buried as well...
As in her previous novels The Sea Grape Tree, The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks, and The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, Gillian Royes transports readers into a beautiful Caribbean setting where life is cheap but religion is strong, and one man is still trying to solve the island’s relentless questions.
About The Author
Photograph by Migdalia Brathwaite
Gillian Royes is the creator of the Shad series, detective novels that take place on the North Coast of Jamaica. The first in the series is The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, followed by The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks, The Sea Grape Tree, and The Rhythm of the August Rain. Prior to that she authored two nonfiction works entitled Business Is Good and Sexcess: The New Gender Rules at Work. She has also ventured into scriptwriting with Preciosa, a film directed by Peter Sagnia, as well as a play called How to Be an Immigrant. A native of Jamaica, Gillian pursued her higher education in the United States, obtaining a doctorate from Emory University. She currently lives in Atlanta and on the island of St. Croix, where she lectures at the University of the Virgin Islands. Find out more at GillianRoyes.com.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atria Books (July 28, 2015)
- Length: 368 pages
- ISBN13: 9781476762418
Raves and Reviews
Praise for Rhythm of the August Rain:
“The fourth series outing features an enchanted, bucolic setting, perfect for readers seeking an exotic escape.”
– Library Journal
Praise for The Sea Grape Tree:
“A superb detective story with richly imagined characters, The Sea Grape Tree is set in an island paradise where more goes on than meets the eye. This splendid third novel in Gillian Royes’ “Shad series,” featuring the delightful bartender/neighborhood detective Shadrack “Shad” Meyers, involves a lonely tourist from England, a local woman determined to leave the island, and an American investor whose possible re-development of the struggling, fictional town of Largo Bay, Jamaica keeps everyone on edge.”
– Amy Hill Hearth, author of Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society
"A gentle Jamaican mystery brimming with compassion: for hardworking Shad, the amateur sleuth; his wife Beth, mother of his four children; and other vivid characters who populate this enchanting novel."
– Joan Steinau Lester, author of Mama's Child and Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong
"In The Sea Grape Tree Gillian Royes serves up a delicious rum punch of a mystery—smart and savvy, touched by her stylized prose, and mixed with beautiful settings and a host of memorable characters like Shad, the lovable town sleuth and bartender.”
– Zane, New York Times bestselling author, publisher, scriptwriter, and executive producer
“From the page one, Royes’ characters grab you. They are complex, not particularly nice, but completely human and captivating. We highly recommended The Sea Grape Tree.”
– Troy Johnson, AALBC.com
Praise for The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks:
“Royes’s strong sequel to her fiction debut, 2011’s The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, deepens the character of Shad Meyers . . . . in this sensitive, thought-provoking novel.”—Publishers Weekly
“Royes' Jamaica is lush, stormy and stronger than the rum punch cocktails that Shad pours over ice.”—abcnews.go.com
“Royes is brilliant in bringing Jamaican sun and sea, people and places to life . . . . She’s equally adept with characters . . . . A cozy mystery as social commentary.”—Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Goat Woman of Largo Bay:
"Strong characters and vivid descriptive passages." —Kirkus Reviews
"The writing in The Goat Woman of Largo Bay is poetic at times and the plotting of the story is more literary in its approach but still leads to a tense climax that will have the reader engrossed to the end." —New York Journal of Books
[Royes] does an outstanding job of creating a small Jamaican village – it is so vivid that the reader feels part of the environment – and deftly shows the social and political life on the island. The novel is an absorbing read and one that won’t be forgotten quickly. –Barbara Cothern, Portland Book Review
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): The Rhythm of the August Rain eBook 9781476762418
- Author Photo (jpg): Gillian Royes Photograph by Migdalia Brathwaite(0.1 MB)
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