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NO VIRGIN ISLAND is a debut novel, set on St. John in the Caribbean. Sabrina Salter has left Nantucket after narrowly escaping being convicted for her husband's murder. She and her friend, Henry, have joined the other inhabitants of the island who have fled to find some semblance of obscurity there. They pooled the resources they were left with after their individual mainland debacles and have opened a property management company handling rental villas. The book opens with Sabrina walking into Villa Mascarpone (yes, the names are that corny) and discovering the most recent renter murdered, bled out on the hammock. So much for obscurity.
As Sabrina attempts to deal with the fallout of the murder in the face of what appears to be a vendetta led by the same reporter who vilified her during the Nantucket trial, she works with a hunky new lawyer who is escaping his own mainland demons. There are any number of stock characters to serve as potential villains. Across the street from the villa live a philandering older man with an interest in younger girls and a man with Alzheimer's who seems to have misplaced his gun. Of course, there's always the pool guy. And the couple who rented the villa immediately after the victim are acting awfully strange. Even Sabrina and Henry have their secrets regarding their time spent with the victim at the villa.
The author, C. Michele Dorsey, does a good job of gathering up the various story lines and bringing them to a satisfying conclusion. Along the way, however, she creates stock characters and provides little in the way of descriptive language. The Caribbean location begs for the beautiful, lush writing that is missing. The characters' motivations seem contrived, and Dorsey's depiction of Alzheimer's is unconvincing. The plotting and the light touch Dorsey uses as she describes Sabrina's relationship with her dog are the best parts of the book.
Dorsey had a good idea with this book, and it's possible that with more experience she will bring more depth to her writing. For the present, NO VIRGIN ISLAND is a very lightweight, non-challenging summer beach read.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, August 2015
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