Umboi Island is the third book in the Creature X adventure/mystery series by J. J. Dupuis. Released 5th April 2022 by Dundurn, it's 280 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.
This
is a well written offbeat mystery about a group of
ragtag journalists and scientists who are looking for proof (or
disproof) of crypto-zoological creatures like bigfoot and giant eels and
the phenomena surrounding them. They investigate local myths and
culture and uncover long-buried dangerous secrets along the way. This time leader Laura is taking them on a hunt to Papua New Guinea.
The
plotting is not at all straightforward. There are several intertwining
subplots which meander along side paths adding background information
and oral history of the "ropen" (a bioluminescent flying creature around whose
presence the team's podcast episode centers). The characterisation is adept and
well rendered and I found most of the main characters both distinct and
believable. I struggled quite often trying to keep the secondary characters straight in my head and finally gave up, but they're mostly interchangeable.
The author
successfully combines murder, cryptozoology, reality TV, and
investigative journalism. The climax and denouement were fairly
heavily telegraphed throughout the book, so for most readers it won't be
a race to the finish to figure out whodunnit and why, but the writing
is competent and I enjoyed the ride enough to seek out the other
books. The author
is adept at his craft. The language is as expected for an action/thriller type book (R-rated).
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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