Crime Fiction set in Tresco, the Scilly Isles

Submitted: 13th February 2024

What We Did in the Storm – Tina Baker

The Scilly Isles

Calm, restful and stunning with its scenery and wildlife

Nice place for a holiday? Well, Tina Baker has been there and left a trail of crime fiction behind her…. Let’s have a VERY different holiday experience!

Map of locations in What We Did in the Storm

Crime Fiction set in Tresco, the Scilly Isles

Map of locations in What We Did in the Storm

BOARDING PASS INFORMATION

Destination : Tresco, Scilly Isles

Author guide: Tina Baker

Genre: crime

Food and drink to accompany: something fresh from the waters!

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A novel to transport you to Tresco!

Map of locations in What We Did in the Storm

Fasten your seatbelts as we are off on a very wild ride to the Scilly isles courtesy of Tina Baker. The location opens up as soon as you start to read as we go inside the homes of the wealthy. We meet the people who know the secrets of these places – the staff themselves – and this is where things start to get very interesting indeed.

Oh at the start, everything is fine, idyllic even. The sun is out and the summer party is about to get started. Hang on though….the storm is coming.

What We Did in the Storm Tina Baker

Map of locations in What We Did in the Storm

Hannah is a bar maid and Bobby in charge of the island itself. Now these two go about their work, they realise that a storm is coming – in every sense of the word. As the rain hits and the wind howls, two women report they have been attacked. Another one has gone missing. This is a small place on a small island. SOMEONE must know the truth. What exactly were Hannah and Bobby doing during the storm? The island is just as much a character as anyone of them. It sits and waits holding its secrets close to its chest. There are so many nooks and crannies on this island that it is not going to give things up straight away. Ah Tina, I can tell you had fun writing this one!

Island dynamics are hot and hurried. The tension and mugginess in the air creates a pressure that permeates the novel. Oh it all looks Instagram friendly, but take off those filters and there are some stains on the fabric of this very community. The weather changing really ramped up the tension and I felt the pressure and sense of foreboding from every angle.

There were a lot of changing POVs at the start of the novel. Don’t let this put you off. Listen carefully and take note as you will have questions later. When you put them into two teams of ‘ Islanders’ versus ‘outsiders’ now THAT is when things get very twisty indeed.

Despite the crime angle and the seriousness of the themes, there is a lovely aroma of Baker humour wafting its way through every page. If there was a Bookish Bake Off, this would be the cherry on the cake.