Paradise Interrupted

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Paradise Interrupted
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A Carole Ann Gibson Mystery by Penny Mickelbury

Format: Hardcover, 286pp.
ISBN: 0684859912
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Trade
Pub. Date: February 2001

Reviewed by Thumper

I want to state my bias up front. I look forward to this time of the year when a new Carole Ann Gibson installment is just over the horizon. Penny Mickelbury hasn’t failed me, until now. Paradise Interrupted is the latest episode of one of the finest mystery serials in print today. Paradise Interrupted is a good book, but in my opinion the timing was a little off. I’ll get into that a little later.

Paradise Interrupted takes our heroine, Carole Ann Gibson to the Isle de Paix where the new president have asked Gibson, Graham Incorporated (GGI) to help re-establishing the country as a tourist attraction, a police force and some basic intra-structure of the new government. Carole Ann goes to the island to oversee the construction of the new main road, build a new government center and over see the arrival of the new police force. Naturally all is not well in Oz for Carole Ann crosses path with Dennis St. Almain, a man suspected of murdering a federal judge. One night the new road is sabotage and the construction foreman is killed. Carole Ann soon finds herself in the middle of a mess that could have international repercussions.

I’m going to come real with you all. I read the book description, saw the book cover and thought, “Ah, hell, here we go again with the Bahamas vacation thang.” I’m jaded. After reading so many books and stories from authors from the Caribbean islands, I’m not fascinated by stories that want to serve as part travelogues. I’ve been taken to the other side of the islands, away from the hotel resorts and the white beaches. I’m more interested in what goes on with the natives than those that want to lie on a beach and sip fruit drinks. All this to say that I had a bit of a ‘tude before I got into the book.

I still found the book mildly interesting in the beginning. By the time I reached the middle, I was bored out of my skull. It was like watching grass grow. Rationally I can understand what Mickelbury was trying to do, I think, by building up the mystery. My problem was that it took sooo long, too long. I’m waiting for somebody to die, you know. The sky can only be blue for so long, the sunset can be purple just x number of times. Kill somebody already, damn.

Having said that, the who-dun-it concluded fine. It wasn’t earth shattering, nor was it surprising. If you are an avid mystery reader, the ending is about average. I would still recommend Paradise Interrupted if you want to feel like you’re on an island vacation, or if you’re a Carole Ann Gibson follower.